author
Fred Waite
1885–1952
A New Zealand soldier, farmer, and public figure who turned firsthand wartime experience into clear, memorable history. Best known for writing about Gallipoli, he brought the campaign to life with the eye of someone who had actually been there.
1 Audiobook
New Zealanders at Gallipoli
by Fred Waite
About the author
Born in Dunedin in 1885, he worked as a compositor for the Otago Daily Times before taking up farming in South Otago. His life changed with the First World War: he served with the New Zealand Expeditionary Force at Gallipoli and later became widely known for his account of that campaign, The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.
His later career reached well beyond writing. He remained active in military service, served in public life as a politician, and was also involved in farming and veterans' affairs. That mix of practical experience, service, and public duty gave his historical writing an unusually direct and grounded quality.
He died in 1952. Today he is remembered not only as a writer, but as a witness to a defining moment in New Zealand history and as someone who helped preserve it for later generations.