William Hardham (31 July 1876 – 13 April 1928) was a New Zealand soldier. Born in Wellington, Hardham volunteered to serve with the New Zealand Military Forces in the Second Boer War. Posted to the 4th Contingent in 1900, he served in South Africa and was awarded the Victoria Cross for the rescue of a wounded soldier while under fire. When the First World War began, he joined the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) and was posted to the Wellington Mounted Rifles (WMR) to serve overseas as a captain. Wounded during the Gallipoli campaign, he was repatriated to New Zealand. On recovery he was made the commandant of Queen Mary Hospital in Hanmer Springs. He rejoined the WMR, then in Palestine, in late 1917 and reached the rank of major by the end of the war in 1918. Returning to civilian life after his discharge from the NZEF, he worked for a newspaper and later the Public Works Department as well as being involved in veterans' affairs. He died in 1928 at the age of 51. ( Full article... )
July 31 : Lā Hae Hawaiʻi (Flag Day) and Lā Hoʻihoʻi Ea (Sovereignty Restoration Day) in Hawaii (1843)
| | The streaked spiderhunter (Arachnothera magna) is a species in the family Nectariniidae, the sunbirds, found in forests from the Indian subcontinent to Southeast Asia. About the size of a sparrow, it has olive-yellow plumage with dark streaking and a long, curved black beak adapted for feeding on nectar. Its nest is made by binding leaves together with cobwebs. This streaked spiderhunter was photographed in Kaeng Krachan National Park, Thailand. Photograph/ credit: JJ Harrison Recently featured: |