Here's a funny and true story that illustrates the laconic nature of NZ'rs as told to me by my parents last weekend.
After WW2 in 1947 Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery who was at that time Commander-in-Chief of the British Forces visited NZ to inspect the troops and reunite with the former Commander of the Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force Lieutenant General Sir Bernard Freyberg .
He mentioned to General Freyberg that he'd noticed that NZ troops rarely saluted when passing higher ranking officers.
General Freyberg agreed that this was indeed the case but did add that in his experience if you smiled at lesser ranking NZ soldiers they would often wave at you.
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