Barbed Wire On The Beachesby Maureen Yorke
This little book of memories is the story of a bright New Zealand child and the effect military operations in Northland had on day to day life during WWII. The author’s account begins with the arrest of her Bohemian father, when a youth in Puhoi, for suspected treason at the start of the First World War.
She then goes on to tell of the strategic role NZ and US forces had in the Far North and the little known responsibilities imposed on children. The prejudices and parochialism of small town New Zealand in the 1940s come to light, so does the spectacle of V Day celebrations in the main street of Kawakawa...
"The trains that went through that afternoon – decorated with balloons and streamers – whistled madly. Musicians played on the streets while people sang and danced. Many joined a long human line and danced the La Conga.
The chain snaked through the town with more and more joining. Next morning there were women's panties hanging on the bake house fence. I was still too young and innocent to understand the implications of this."
– Maureen Yorke
