War's horrors outlined in letters from front line | Hawkes Bay News | Local News in Hawkes Bay

Heartbreaking correspondence from the front lines of Gallipoli has been shared with keen Hawke's Bay history buffs.

The first in a series of lectures, a talk on Gallipoli by Massey University war studies professor Glyn Harper, was hosted by the Hawke's Bay Opera House recently.

The historian told tales from his new book, Letters from Gallipoli, an edited anthology of letters from New Zealand soldiers stationed in Turkey during World War I.

"It tells the story of Gallipoli through a collection of letters my wife and I collected, more than 600 over the space of two years," Professor Harper said.

He told of the dangers and harsh conditions, aiming to break down Gallipoli muddle and myths by touching on modern research into the war.

The audience was a mix of young and old. Bella Grigg, 16, attended with her Iona College history class.

"We are all doing an assignment on Gallipoli, so are hoping to get as many notes as possible to get good marks," she said.

Judith Anderson, of Havelock North, who was with a group of friends, said they were "self-professed war history buffs" who couldn't pass up the opportunity to hear something new.

"We are here to hear an interesting take on New Zealand's participation in Gallipoli," she said.

"It's part of why Hawke's Bay is great, we get such a wide variety of interesting topics."

Massey University vice-chancellor Steve Maharey said the lecture was the first in a series by senior academics from the university scheduled for Hawke's Bay.

"Last year we began to strengthen our links with the Bay and one of the things people said they wanted was expertise in things that interested people here - so we started the series and hope to do many more things over here," he said.

The next speaker, Sir Mason Durie, will look at the Maori New Year, Matariki, in June.