Rangiora Gunner

The Rangiora Gunner was a monthly typewritten camp magazine published by the Rangiora Artillery Training Depot (ATD) at Rangiora Camp, Christchurch between 1942 and 1943 during World War II.

The Rangiora Gunner was a ‘representative camp publication’ (06 October 1942: 1) and hoped to cover ‘news and general activities … sports news, forthcoming entertainment, humorous interludes, YMCA work in all its phases … original literary work in the form of verse (humorous or otherwise), short topical articles and chatty paragraphs’ (06 October 1942: 1).

Aimed to ‘entertain … provide a means of self-expression in camp journalism, to foster the co-operative spirit in all forms of camp life and to provide a printed record of our past and future work as a whole’ (06 October 1942: 1) the Rangiora Gunner was run co-operatively, relying on contributions and interest from the whole camp.

It was published by Noel Farr Hoggard, a Wellington based journalist, printer, and author before and after the war, known for publications Spilt Ink (later called New Triad), and Arena, as well as other local newspapers such as the Paraparaumu Weekly Press, Upper Hutt Advocate, Pukerua Bay News and Tawa Tatler.

It is not clear what became of the Rangiora Gunner. However, as training camp, it is likely that personnel involved in its publication were eventually shipped to the front.