- New Zealand Medal
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New Zealand Wars Medal 
Obverse (top left) and reverse (top right) of the medal.Awarded by United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Type Campaign medal Eligibility British and Colonial forces. Awarded for Campaign service. Campaign New Zealand Wars 1845-47 & 1860-66 Description Bronze or silver disk, 36mm diameter. Statistics Established 1869 Distinct
recipients4400 The New Zealand Medal was a campaign medal awarded to Imperial and Colonial troops in the New Zealand Wars of 1845-47 (and for 1848) and 1860-66. The New Zealand Wars were previously known as the Maori Wars, Anglo-Maori Wars or Land Wars. The medal was authorised in 1869.
The Imperial forces included British Army, Royal Navy and Royal Marines. The Colonial militia were recruited locally or in Australia, and included mobile forces like Von Tempskys Forest Rangers and the Arawa Flying Column from a Māori tribe for the guerilla war in the New Zealand bush. Colonial militia claimants had to prove that they had been under fire. Claims from colonial forces were closed in 1900 but reopened in 1910 and 1913 in association with land claims for service in the war. Claims were finally closed for Europeans in 1915 and Māori in 1916.
Contents
Description
The medal is a circular bronze (usually) or silver design with a straight bar suspender. The obverse shows an effigy of Queen Victoria, facing left and wearing a diadem and veil, with the legend: VICTORIA D : G : BRITT : REG : F : D : The bust is similar to but smaller than that on the Abyssinian Medal issued in the same year.
The reverse has a laurel wreath with in centre usually a year or year range from either the first or second period, and between the wreath and the edge NEW ZEALAND (above wreath) and VIRTUTIS HONOR (Honour of valour; below wreath). Generally the colonial militia medals are undated, and a few specimens are known with '1846 to 1865'. A year range is given as ‘1863 / to / 1865’ (in three lines) and unusually for 19th century British medals the year(s) are die struck in the centre.
The blue ribbon has a 10mm red centre stripe. The suspender is ornamented with New Zealand fern fronds. No clasps (bars) were issued.
Number issued
The number struck was 1957 (Imperial government) and 2500 (Colonial government), total 4457, of which about 4400 were issued. The Ministry of Defence retained a few, and sold some unclaimed medals in the 1960s with the name of the recipient XXXXXed out.
See also
- New Zealand Cross (1869) (for bravery)
External links
References
- The New Zealand War Medal: Awards to Colonial Units by P. Y. Dennerly (The Volunteer May 1986, Volume 12 No 4; journal of the New Zealand Military Historical Society)
19th Century 
Army Gold Cross (1810) • Army Gold Medal (1810) • Waterloo Medal (1815) • 
Ghuznee Medal (1839) • 
Candahar, Ghuznee, Cabul Medal (1842) • Jellalabad Medals (1842) • Medal for the Defence of Kelat-I-Ghilzie (1842) • 
First China War Medal (1842) • Scinde Medal (1843) • Gwalior Star (1843) • 
Sutlej Medal (1846) • 
Naval General Service Medal (1847) • 
Military General Service Medal (1847) • 
Punjab Medal (1849) • 
Army of India Medal (1851) • 
India General Service Medal (1854) • 
South Africa Medal (1854) • 
Crimean War Medal (1854) • 
Baltic Medal (1856) • 
Indian Mutiny Medal (1858) • 
Second China War Medal (1861) • 
New Zealand Medal (1869) • 
Abyssinian War Medal (1869) • 
Canada General Service Medal (1866-70) • 
Ashantee Medal (1873-74) • 
South Africa Medal (1877-79) • 
Afghanistan Medal (1878-80) • Kabul to Kandahar Star (1880) • 
Cape of Good Hope General Service Medal (1880-97) • 
Egypt Medal (1882-89) • 
North West Canada Medal (1885) • _
British South Africa Company Medal (1890-97) East and West Africa Medal (1892) • 
India Medal (1896) • 
Ashanti Star (1896) • 
Queen's Sudan Medal (1899) • 
East and Central Africa Medal (1899) • 
Queen's South Africa Medal (1899) • Queen's Mediterranean Medal (1899)Pre World War 1 
China War Medal (1900) • 
Ashanti Medal (1901) • 
King's South Africa Medal (1902) • 
Africa General Service Medal (1902) • 
Transport Medal (1902) (for South Africa or China) • 
Tibet Medal (1905) • 
India General Service Medal (1909)World War 1 
1914 Star • 1914-15 Star • 
British War Medal • 
Victory Medal • 
Territorial Force War Medal • 
Mercantile Marine War MedalInter World War World War 2 _
_ 
1939-1945 Star • _
Atlantic Star • 
Air Crew Europe Star • __ 
Africa Star • _
Pacific Star • 
Burma Star • 
Italy Star • 
France and Germany Star • _
Defence Medal • 
War Medal 1939–1945Post World War 
Korea Medal (1951) • 
General Service Medal (1962) • 
Rhodesia Medal (1980) • 
South Atlantic Medal (1982) • 
Gulf Medal (1992) 
Accumulated Campaign Service Medal (1994)21st Century 
OSM for Sierra Leone (2000) • 
OSM for Afghanistan (2002) • 
OSM for Democratic Republic of Congo (2003) • 
Iraq Medal (2004) _
Iraq Reconstruction Service Medal (2004) • 
Accumulated Campaign Service Medal (2011)
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