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Road to Recovery: Disabled soldiers of World War I

Road to Recovery: Disabled soldiers of World War I reflects on the unimaginable physical destruction caused by the war. The exhibition explores how New Zealand soldiers disabled in the hostilities were supported to regain their personal and economic independence.

Large-scale exhibition prints taken during the last year of the war poignantly illustrate some of these efforts at self-reliance. The photographs are displayed with examples of handwork carefully crafted by soldiers recovering in hospital, and returned veterans whose disabilities made it impossible for them to hold down full-time jobs.

Road to Recovery was conceived as part of Te Papa’s four-year Conflict and Identity programme. It draws on research undertaken for the Te Papa Press publication Holding on to Home: New Zealand Stories and Objects of the First World War, by Kate Hunter and Kirstie Ross.

Tour schedule

National Army Museum, Waioru25 Apr 2018 – mid-2019

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