Anti-Vietnam War demonstration
Demonstrators on Parliament steps, Wellington, protest against New Zealand sending combat troops to Vietnam. A banner behind them reads: 'Cabinet: Please, no N.Z. troops for Vietnam' 1965, Photographer unknown, courtesy of Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand (Dominion Post Collection, EP/1965/1601)
Opposition to New Zealand's support of the United States in the Vietnam War began early on. Nevertheless, almost 3,000 New Zealanders served in Vietnam between 1964 and 1972 – though no more than 550 at any one time.
The Vietnam War was New Zealand's longest and most unpopular conflict of the century. The country's participation in the war was mostly about fulfilling its obligations to the US under the Anzus Treaty.
Read more about protest marches 1950s-70s