Thomas Oliver Newnham (20 November 1926 – 15 December 2010) was a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

political activist and

educationalist Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Vari ...

. He was involved in several left wing causes: attacking institutional racism in New Zealand, and opposing the

1981 Springbok Tour The 1981 South African rugby tour (known in New Zealand as the Springbok Tour, and in Republic of South Africa, South Africa as the Rebel Tour) polarised opinions and inspired widespread protests across New Zealand. The controversy also extende ...

and

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

in general (both carried out in his role as Secretary of

CARE Care may refer to: Organizations and projects * CARE (New Zealand), Citizens Association for Racial Equality, a former New Zealand organisation * CARE (relief agency), "Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere", an international aid and ...

). He spoke

Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding are ...

and

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

fluently after living in China and was heavily involved in helping

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

immigrants in his later years. He wrote the book ''Dr Bethune's Angel: The Life of Kathleen Hall'' about the New Zealand missionary nurse who worked with the Canadian physician, Dr

Norman Bethune Henry Norman Bethune (; March 4, 1890 – November 12, 1939; zh, t=亨利·諾爾曼·白求恩, p=Hēnglì Nuò'ěrmàn Báiqiú'ēn) was a Canadian thoracic surgeon, early advocate of socialized medicine, and member of the Communist Party ...

, in China in the 1930s. In the 1988 Queen's Birthday Honours, Newnham was appointed a

Companion of the Queen's Service Order The Queen's Service Order, established by royal warrant of Queen Elizabeth II on 13 March 1975, is used to recognise "valuable voluntary service to the community or meritorious and faithful services to the Crown or similar services within the pu ...

for community service. Newnham died on 15 December 2010 from cancer, aged 84, at Elizabeth Knox Hospital, Epsom. Hamilton2

Books by Tom Newnham

* * ''By batons and barbed wire''. Graphic Publications, 1983. * ''Dr. Bethune's Angel: The Life of Kathleen Hall''.

Foreign Languages Press Foreign Languages Press is a publishing house located in China. Based in Beijing, it was founded in 1952 and currently forms part of the China International Publishing Group, which is owned and controlled by the Publicity Department of the Chi ...

, Beijing, 2004. * ''Dr. Bethune's Angel: The Life of Kathleen Hall''. Graphic Publications, Auckland, 2002. * ''He Ming Qing: Kathleen Hall''. New World Press, 1992. * ''New Zealand Women in China''. Graphic Publications, 1995. * ''Apartheid is not a game: the inside story of New Zealand's struggle against apartheid sport''. Graphic Publications, 1975 * ''An ABC of Racial Sport : what New Zealand sporting visits to South Africa really mean ''. Citizens Association for Racial Equality, 1969. * ''Libel action against Prime Minister in Supreme Court, Auckland, 4–15 July 1977''. Citizens Association for Racial Equality, 1977. * ''Letter to Mr. Holyoake about the proposed All Black tour of South Africa and Rhodesia''. Citizens Association for Racial Equality, 1969. * ''The term "honorary white"''. Citizens Association for Racial Equality, 1969. * ''Some Questions for Mr Dalgety''. T. O. Newnham, 1978. * ''Sione comes to New Zealand : a Samoan migrant's story'' Anthony Haas,

Sue Kedgley Susan Jane Kedgley (born 1948) is a New Zealand politician, food campaigner and author. Before entering politics Kedgley worked for the United Nations in New York for 8 years and for a decade as a television reporter, director and producer in N ...

, Tom Newnham.

Whitcombe & Tombs Whitcoulls is a major New Zealand book, stationery, gift, games & toy retail chain. Formerly known as Whitcombe & Tombs, it has 54 stores nationally. Whitcombe & Tombs was founded in 1888, and Coulls Somerville Wilkie in 1871. The companies mer ...

, 1972. * ''Interesting times: a Kiwi chronicle'' Graphic Publications, 2003 . * ''Three Chinese Communues''. Graphic Educational Publications, 1967. * ''Three Chinese Communues''. Rev. ed. Whitcoulls, 1975. * ''Lake village in Cambodia''.

Longmans Longman, also known as Pearson Longman, is a publishing company founded in London, England, in 1724 and is owned by Pearson PLC. Since 1968, Longman has been used primarily as an imprint by Pearson's Schools business. The Longman brand is also ...

, 1965. * ''Teak Logging in Thailand''. Graphic Educational Publications, 1965. * ''A Village in China''. Longmans, 1967. * ''Asia: the monsoon lands''.3rd ed. Whitcombe and Tombs, 1973. * ''India Builds Industry''. Graphic Publications, 1966. * ''A South Indian Village''. Longmans, 1965. * ''Revision Map Notebooks''. Graphic Educational Publications, 1960–1961. * ''The Middle Ages''. Graphic Educational Publications, 1968. * ''Rewi: The Story of

Rewi Alley Rewi Alley (known in China as 路易•艾黎, Lùyì Àilí, 2 December 1897 – 27 December 1987) was a New Zealand-born writer and political activist. A member of the Chinese Communist Party, he dedicated 60 years of his life to the cause a ...

''. Graphic Publications, 1997. * ''Hands and Minds Together : Rewi Alley's gung ho school''. Tom Newnham and Deng Bangzhen. Graphic Publications, 1988. * ''Fifty Years of Friendship : a short history of the NZ China Friendship Society''. Graphic Publications, 2002. * ''1840–1990: A Long White Cloud: 19 Maori and Non-Maori Authors''. Graphic Publications, 2000. * ''Peace Squadron: The Sharp Edge of Nuclear Protest in New Zealand''. Graphic Publications, 1985. * ''French Polynesia, a paradise? : French colonialism and nuclear testing in the South Pacific''.

Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) is an organisation that advocates unilateral nuclear disarmament by the United Kingdom, international nuclear disarmament and tighter international arms regulation through agreements such as the Nucle ...

, 1973. * ''Shandan on the Old Silk Road''. Graphic Publications, 2001. * ''A Walk around My Fathers''. Graphic Publications, 2000. * ''A Cry of Treason''. Dunmore Press, 1978. * ''This Family Robinson''. Graphic Publication, 1993. * ''10 Years of C.A.R.E.''. by M.P. K. Sorrenson, T. Newnham and J. de Bres. Citizens Association for Racial Equality, 1974. * ''25 Years of C.A.R.E.''. Citizens Association for Racial Equality, 1989. * ''The Kiwi Who Walked on Water''. Graphic Publications Ltd & the Garret Press, 1985.

References

External links

* http://nzchinasociety.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/kathleen-hall-tom-newnham.pdf * http://www.listener.co.nz/issue/3328/artsbooks/1494/the_long_march.html * http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10694925&ref=emailfriend * http://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/2010/12/in-memory-of-tom-newnham-1926-2010.html * http://terrybellwrites.wordpress.com/2010/12/17/farewell-to-an-anti-apartheid-battler/ * https://archive.today/20110717134612/http://www.ucpnz.com/readnews.asp?newsid=2812 (Chinese) * http://www.chinaconsulate.org.nz/eng/gdxw/t781067.htm * http://www.thepaepae.com/rip-tom-newnham/12753/ (with photo) {{DEFAULTSORT:Newnham, Tom 1926 births 2010 deaths Anti-racism activists New Zealand activists Deaths from cancer in New Zealand Companions of the Queen's Service Order New Zealand non-fiction writers

Books by Tom Newnham

See also

References

External links