News & Project Updates

Wētā Workshop is to open an ambitious new exhibition next year in the battlegrounds of the First World War.

The Wellington-based special effects firm is heading to the fields of France outside the town of Le Quesnoy, in the footsteps of New Zealand’s WWI contingent.

Alors que les commémorations de l’Anzac Day ont fait vibrer les rues du Quesnoy ce samedi, on en sait un peu plus sur le futur musée néo-zélandais. Installé dans l’ex-gendarmerie, il devrait livrer ses premières expositions immersives, entre sons et lumières, début 2023.

The scene of New Zealand’s last major action in World War I will become a living memorial to those involved, and the nation’s wartime legacy. A 19th Century mansion in the northern French town of Le Quesnoy will become a museum and visitor centre that will tell the story of the Kiwi diggers who scaled the ancient walls with a ladder to liberate the town.

Wētā Workshop is embarking on its latest venture, bringing to life a pivotal moment in New Zealand’s WWI history thousands of kilometres away from Wellington in a small French town, Le Quesnoy.

Opening to the public in a phased manner from ANZAC Day 2023, the living memorial museum and visitor centre will honour New Zealand’s WWI history.

A memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed this week by the Returned and Services Association (RSA) and its French equivalent, Union Nationale des Combattants (UNC).

The ceremony took place in Cambridge.

The Rugby World Cup (RWC) final will be played in Paris in late October 2023. While the participants, nor the victors, can be foretold hopefully the prediction that Kiwis will again be travelling to follow the tournament can be more certain.

It’s also probable if Kiwis are travelling in France, that many of them will take the time to visit some of the World War One (WWI) Commonwealth War Graves Cemeteries.

He aha te mea nui o te ao? (What is the most important thing in the world?) He tangata, he tangata, he tangata (It is the people, it is the people, it is the people).

Who are your people? On this of all days, that Māori proverb resonates. When you muse on world wars, it can feel overwhelming when you think of the sheer number of people who died. But if you bring it down to the very core, it is about individuals.