Ōtautahi Christchurch: From Protest to Peace City
This collection of stories covers the history of peace and anti-nuclear activism in Ōtautahi Christchurch and Canterbury, from the early actions of citizens in the 19th and 20th centuries, to the declaration of Christchurch as New Zealand’s first Peace City in 2002, and beyond. The stories contained in this exhibition were brought to life by the Disarmament and Security Centre using archival material from the Macmillan Brown Library’s Peace and Disarmament Collection. This project was made possible with generous support from the Christchurch City Council’s Intangible Heritage Fund.
At times, Ōtautahi Christchurch has led Aotearoa New Zealand, and even the world, on peace and anti-nuclear issues. As veteran New Zealand peace activist Reverend Dr George Armstrong explains: 'In some ways Christchurch is the most rebellious city in the whole country. It’s full of people who are kind of difficult to handle. They’re brilliant with great, tremendous energy, and very radical ideas.' Under the surface of the city’s colonial character lay a strong history of peace and social justice in both Pākehā and Māori communities dating back to the 19th century.
From the early 1900s, people from Christchurch and Canterbury took leading roles in movements such as No More War, the Christian Pacifist Society, the Peace Pledge Movement, and the League of Nations. Christchurch later became home to the New Zealand Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament in the 1960s, New Zealand’s first city to be declared a nuclear weapon free zone in 1982, and the country’s first Peace City declared in 2002. Many of these movements were made up of ordinary Christchurch citizens who used the city as a vehicle to demonstrate the interconnectedness of locals to peace issues around the world. They were committed to spreading this message throughout the city and beyond, and their small actions contributed to the national and international peace and anti-nuclear movements. Discover the rich peace heritage of our region through this exhibition.