Poem Inspired by Wellington Wind

Sarah Johnston (SANTK Client Services Archivist) has come across this poetic ode to Wellington’s gusty weather. We should have been reciting “I’m content to be holding my lid on / at the corner of Lambton Quay / as I cling to the earth with my eyebrows / against the wind that is shoving at me” earlier this week!

This poem was written by an unknown returned soldier during World War II. It is recited here by announcer William Yates at a 2YA concert of camp entertainers that was broadcast to New Zealand forces in the Pacific, in the early 1940s.

Click below to listen.

Archival audio from  Sound Archives Ngā Taonga Kōrero. Any re-use of this audio is a breach of copyright. To request a copy of the recording, contact SANTK.