Found listed in the Anthology of Twentieth Century New Zealand Poetry.

Edited by Vincent O'Sullivan (1970) Oxford University Press.

"We in these islands are
Nowhere far from the sea
And today I heard its roar
For hours, incessantly"

From A Calm Day by Basil Dowling

Published a poem called "Summer Afternoon" in 1947,performed by Rosemary Gordon (soprano) and Gwyneth Brown (piano), recorded in 1965 [SA/NTK 14559].

"A Question of Faith

A History of the New Zealand Christian Pacifist Society

On the evening of 2 June 1941, Christian Pacifist Society activist, Presbyterian Minister and well-known poet Basil Dowling mounted the drinking fountain in Wellington?s Pigeon Park to commence a public denunciation of war. Like those before him he faced certain arrest and imprisonment. When he later wrote on why he tried to attempt the improbable he began his explanation by stating that it was, "simply a question of faith."

Their beliefs led many members to publicly protest against World War II for which some were jailed, to become conscientious objectors and suffer detention in camps for indeterminate sentences and after the war to establish a community at Riverside near Motueka.

David Grant, New Zealand's foremost author on this topic, tells the stories of these committed men and women and their organisation.."