The video for this story about New Zealand Chinese tunneller Victor Low screened on Newshub on 24 April 2017.
Among the men who served in the New Zealand Tunnelling Company during the First World War was Victor Low. A surveyor born and raised in Dunedin to Chinese parents, Victor enlisted for war service in 1917. He joined the Tunnellers on the Western Front several months after they had finished working on the tunnels and caverns under the town of Arras in preparation for an Allied offensive in April 1917. He worked with the Tunnellers to construct trenches and roads and carried out other engineering work such as bridge building. After the war Victor spent time at Sling Camp in England before returning to New Zealand. While at Sling, he helped construct the large Bulford Kiwi on the hillside overlooking the camp.
Further Information
- Victor Low's record on the Auckland War Memorial Museum Online Cenotaph
- Specialist Units of the NZEF: Tunnelling Company (NZHistory)
- Arras Offensive, 1917 (NZHistory)
- Sling Camp kiwi (Te Ara)
- The New Zealand Tunnelling Company
Community contributions