Call for WW1 Information to the Waikato Community

30 JUNE 2014

For immediate release

Waikato Museum has launched an interactive website to help uncover the untold stories of the men and women of the Waikato during World War 1.

The website www.forustheyfell.org.nz has been developed to crowd-source information for the major exhibition, For us They Fell to open in April 2015.

Waikato Museum director Cherie Meecham says information sourced from the community will complement existing records and information to tell the Waikato story before, during and after World War 1.

“A surprising amount of information about these men is available via this website from different databases in New Zealand and around the world but with the help of the public, Waikato Museum intends to uncover the untold stories of the Great War.

“The For Us They Fell website is a platform for engagement that also allows visitors to gather information about the thousands of soldiers from the Waikato region, including family members and the men whose names are listed on Waikato war memorials.”

During July the museum will visit towns across the Waikato/Coromandel region to meet the community, demonstrate the website and ask people to share any stories or memorabilia from World War 1. The For Us They Fell roadshow will finish in Hamilton at the Hamilton RSA and the Museum.

“The geographic area we will cover in this project is mapped to the Tainui region of the Waikato which includes the greater Waikato and Coromandel,” said Ms Meecham.

For Us They Fell roadshow dates and locations:

Tuesday 8 July - Ngaruawahia RSA 11.00am - 12.30pm, Huntly RSA 1.30 - 3.00pm

Wednesday 9 July - Te Awamutu RSA, 12.30 - 2.00pm, Raglan Club, 4.00 - 5.30pm

Thursday 10 July – Morrinsville RSA, 2.00 - 3.30pm, Te Aroha RSA 4.30pm - 6.00pm

Friday 11 July - The Treasury, Thames, 12.30 - 2.00pm, Coromandel RSA 4.00pm - 5.30pm

Saturday 12 July - Mercury Bay Club 11.00am -12.30pm, Waihi RSA, 3.30pm - 5.00pm

Monday 14 July - Matamata RSA 2.00 - 3.30pm

Tuesday 15 July – Putaruru District Services Memorial Club 11.00am -12.30pm, Tokoroa Club 1.30 – 3.00pm, Cambridge Club 4.30pm - 6.00pm

Wednesday 16 July – Otorohanga Club 2.00 - 3.30pm, Waitomo Club 4.30pm - 6.00pm

Thursday 17 July – Hamilton RSA 3.30 - 5.00pm

Friday 18 July and Saturday 19 July - Waikato Museum 2.00 - 3.30pm

For more information on For Us They Fell visit www.waikatomuseum.co.nz contact Waikato Museum, phone 07 8383 6606 during business hours or email museum@hcc.govt.nz.

Background

For us They Fell will have major community input and is centred on the mostly untold stories of men from the Waikato district who fought and died in World War 1. The exhibition will be developed by Wellington-based visitor experience company Story Inc. in collaboration with Waikato Museum.

Waikato Museum received a $506,233 (excluding GST), grant from the Lottery Grants Board’s Environment and Heritage Fund to develop the exhibition to commemorate the first century since World War 1 in April 2015.

For Us They Fell will open from Anzac Day 25 April 2015 until Armistice Day, 11 November 2018, to mark the beginning and end of World War 1.

ENDS

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