AN ambassador from New Zealand was the special guest at the St Catherine's Hill History Day at the weekend.

Put together by the Friends of St Catherine’s Hill and Christchurch council, and funded with a £10,000 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund, the event was a celebration of the park's First World War history and links to our South Pacific cousins.

The event included a pop-up cinema showing a film about New Zealand's contribution to the British war effort during the First World War, a living history camp with re-enactors, Roman history re-enactors, a 1916 J-Type lorry and history talks.

The Deputy High Commissioner David Evans was also joined by the Mayor of Christchurch Nick Geary in viewing the displays on his country's connection to the area.

St Catherine's Hill was used during both world wars, particularly for trench warfare training during the First World War, including field engineers from the New Zealand Expeditionary Force.

Organiser Robin Harley, the council's countryside officer, said: "There are very strong links between New Zealand and the site, and I am currently dressed as a New Zealand soldier.

"It has been a very successful day, we have had about 800 people through.

"We are very grateful for the efforts of all the volunteers and people who have helped set things up, and to the Heritage Lottery Fund, it would not have been possible without them."

The history day also involved close links with Christchurch Junior School, while paintings were commissioned from local artist Craig Wilson.

The hill is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest for its ecological, historical and geological significance, and shows evidence of use over many historical periods from the Stone Age to the present day.

The history day takes place every two years.