Articles written by Brian Cross

Tragic drama and notable acts of heroism played out just offshore, as Wellington residents looked on helplessly during the storm of the century.

Apr 27, 2012 - Brian Cross

Among the most successful German World War I raiders, the converted freighter Wolf roamed the high seas as far as New Zealand in pursuit of enemy shipping.

Apr 17, 2012 - Brian Cross

When Kiwis fought for King and country far away, the natural musical talents of their Maori comrades came to the fore as the occasion called.

Mar 20, 2012 - Brian Cross

One of the many low-lying atolls that make up the Marshall Islands, Bikini was ground zero in the early days of the nuclear arms race.

Mar 7, 2012 - Brian Cross

An important piece of New Zealand's industrial heritage is revealed in a visit to the Rochfort Plateau, the remnants of Denniston and its famous incline.

Feb 25, 2012 - Brian Cross

Whaling interests were behind efforts to establish the South Island as a French colony. France was too slow to beat the British, but the race was close.

Feb 2, 2012 - Brian Cross

Pitcairn Island is an isolated and remote place in the South Pacific. In 1789 it was also uninhabited. That made it an ideal home for the Bounty mutineers.

Jan 17, 2012 - Brian Cross

Whatever the circumstances, the pleasant town of Levanto is well situated to serve as a base for visiting Cinque Terre National Park.

Jan 10, 2012 - Brian Cross

Roald Amundsen's better equipped Norwegian team outdid the British expedition led by Robert Scott, and so were first to the southernmost point on Earth.

Dec 26, 2011 - Brian Cross

When Britain called, Private Albert Cross answered, to join the thousands of young New Zealand men who went to war on the other side of the world.

Nov 21, 2011 - Brian Cross

For many working class families of 1840's Scotland, resettlement in New Zealand offered the promise of a better way of life.

Nov 6, 2011 - Brian Cross

Daredevil Australian flyer Guy Menzies made the first solo flight across the Tasman Sea, ending his journey upside down in a West Coast swamp.

Oct 28, 2011 - Brian Cross

The groundbreaking polar photography of Australian Frank Hurley is celebrated a century on from his first visit to Antarctica with the Mawson expedition.

Oct 21, 2011 - Brian Cross

With the NZ Company selling land that many Maori still considered theirs, eventually there would be violent conflict in the Wellington region.

Sep 27, 2011 - Brian Cross

In the media, the Trans-Antarctic Expedition became a 'race to the pole', a distraction from the venture's scientific achievements in the Ross Dependency.

Sep 5, 2011 - Brian Cross

Maunguika to the Maori, North Head stands guard over the entrance to the Waitemata Harbour, the ideal place to look out over New Zealand's largest city.

Aug 20, 2011 - Brian Cross

While European and Asian sailors were safely staying close to land, the people of the Pacific voyaged far and wide in their great migratory canoes.

Aug 17, 2011 - Brian Cross

From Lille it's a short drive to many important First World War sites for anyone interested in the battlefields of France and Belgium.

Aug 13, 2011 - Brian Cross

In 1843 the warrior leader Te Rauparaha led an action of resistance to the British colonial land grab that shocked settlers the length of New Zealand.

Aug 5, 2011 - Brian Cross

For travellers considering Koblenz as a Rhine cruise stopover or short break destination, the small German city has plenty going for it and a lot to offer.

Jul 12, 2011 - Brian Cross

Despite scientific evidence for life's evolution from single cell beginnings, Creationism retains its hold in even the most sophisticated of societies.

Jul 9, 2011 - Brian Cross

For much of the 20th century, New Zealand school children were taught a wonderful story about how and when Polynesian people first came to New Zealand.

Jul 2, 2011 - Brian Cross

Overlooking the Susa Valley in Northern Italy's Piedmont region, Sacra di San Michele is a travel destination worthy of a little extra effort to get there.

Jun 29, 2011 - Brian Cross

Blackbirding was a step away from slave trading. The practice supplied 19th century Queensland and other Pacific places with a convenient source of labour.

Jun 22, 2011 - Brian Cross

Rail travel offers plenty for the visitor to Europe and train ticket prices can provide surprisingly good value with a little forward planning.

Jun 18, 2011 - Brian Cross

New Zealand's greatest loss of civilian life in a maritime disaster occurred when the steamship Tararua ran onto rocks at Waipapa Point in 1881.

Jun 4, 2011 - Brian Cross

The Melton Mowbray Navigation is a lesser known section of the canal system that was once vital to English commerce, until the railways came.

Apr 14, 2011 - Brian Cross

After performing with distinction on the Somme in northern France, the New Zealand troops were redeployed in Belgian territory in early 1917.

Apr 2, 2011 - Brian Cross

The South Island's largest city was to have been a major player in RWC 2011. The Christchurch earthquake has caused a change of plan for the organisers.

Mar 31, 2011 - Brian Cross

Located at the former Wigram Air Base in suburban Christchurch, the Air Force Museum houses a superb collection of New Zealand's military aviation history.

Mar 23, 2011 - Brian Cross

Following the voyages of Bougainville, de Surville and du Fresne, France's next expedition to the Pacific was a major undertaking that ended in disaster.

Mar 12, 2011 - Brian Cross

The timeball station that once served visitors to Lyttelton is one of many famous Canterbury landmarks seriously damaged in the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes.

Mar 5, 2011 - Brian Cross

The terrible Christchurch earthquakes may serve to increase awareness and understanding of the geology that underlies the 'Shaky Isles'.

Mar 1, 2011 - Brian Cross

Exploration of the Red Centre began when the Australian Overland Telegraph went through. Alfred Gibson would give his life and name to that arid interior.

Feb 25, 2011 - Brian Cross

Proposals to list two early war memorials on the Historic Places Trust Register highlight the place of these monuments in the fabric of New Zealand life.

Feb 20, 2011 - Brian Cross

Prospectors first found significant quantities of gold near Coromandel in 1852. The gold rush was brief, but mining is still a part of the regional economy.

Feb 19, 2011 - Brian Cross

Hamilton, heart of the Waikato and New Zealand's largest inland city, will host three matches during the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

Feb 8, 2011 - Brian Cross

In the New Zealand Wars, the Battle of Rangiriri was won by the British at considerable cost to the forces of its Imperial Army.

Feb 4, 2011 - Brian Cross

Traversing northern parts of Tongariro National Park, the Tongariro Crossing continues to increase its reputation as one of NZ's very best day walks.

Jan 28, 2011 - Brian Cross

After navigating the Endeavour around the North Island, Captain James Cook ventured south to complete the first map of New Zealand.

Jan 12, 2011 - Brian Cross

Captain Cook's first voyage of exploration to the South Pacific produced a New Zealand map that for the times was of the highest standard of cartography.

Jan 11, 2011 - Brian Cross

For many people across the globe, home hospitality or a house swap paves the way for beating the cost of seeing the world.

Jan 11, 2011 - Brian Cross

The territory of Tokelau in the Pacific Ocean has a colonial period history that attests to its isolation, a place of little relevance to global affairs.

Jan 6, 2011 - Brian Cross

New Zealand's coolest little capital in the world is at the heart of the country and its sporting action, a top place to be during RWC 2011.

Jan 3, 2011 - Brian Cross

New Zealand's largest city and host of the World Cup final offers visitors plenty to do along with following their teams in RWC 2011.

Jan 2, 2011 - Brian Cross

The first global communication network arrived with the All-British Pacific submarine telegraph cable, completed in 1902 to put the Empire in touch.

Jan 1, 2011 - Brian Cross

WOMAD, the World of Music, Arts and Dance returns to the Taranaki city of New Plymouth from 18 to 20 March 2011.

Dec 17, 2010 - Brian Cross

Established during World War One, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission maintains to this day the last resting places of the fallen.

Dec 13, 2010 - Brian Cross

The largest earthquake in New Zealand's recorded history hit the southern North Island in 1855. Its effect on new settlers and the landscape was dramatic.

Dec 6, 2010 - Brian Cross

As far as it is possible to get from the killing fields of Western Europe, German World War I raiders sailed to the South Pacific in pursuit of enemy ships.

Dec 3, 2010 - Brian Cross