Thousands of people attended the Mount Maunganui dawn service. Photo / George Novak
Thousands of people attended the Mount Maunganui dawn service. Photo / George Novak
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them.
And on Sunday morning, tens of thousands of people across the Bay of Plentydid exactly that — they remembered the Kiwis who served and died in conflicts overseas.
The Anzac Day services and parades commemorated across the region were a stark difference from last year when, under alert level 4 lockdown, New Zealanders were forced to remain on their own properties.
Thousands of people attended the Mount Maunganui dawn service. Photo / George Novak
While many recognised Anzac Day by gathering at the ends of their driveways, it was a far cry from services held under normal circumstances.
This year, services and parades took place throughout the region, including Tauranga, Mount Maunganui, Pāpāmoa, Waihī Beach, Katikati, Te Puke, Maketū, and Rotorua.
In Mount Maunganui, a steady stream of people walked along Marine Parade from 5am, gathering around the Cenotaph, illuminated in red.
A large crowd centred around the Cenotaph, while others climbed Mount Drury for a better view. Some late stragglers were forced to watch from Maunganui Main Beach.
Faces peered out of the darkness towards the Cenotaph, with barely a whisper among the crowd as the sound of waves crashed onto the nearby beach.
Around 5.55am, a bagpiper started and distinguished guests stood up from their seats. After a few short moments, the parade arrived.
Led by the piper, the parade full of veterans and military personnel all astutely dressed with their medals glinting in the darkness made their way around the Cenotaph.
After they came to a stop a representative from the Mount Maunganui Returned Services Association welcomed everyone to the service.
The parade led by the bagpiper at the Mount Maunganui dawn service. Photo / George Novak
The Australian and New Zealand national anthems were performed, and some crowd members joined in.
Mount Maunganui RSA chaplain Rev Marie Gilpin read a Bible passage from Ecclesiastes 3 and said a prayer.
A wreath was placed at the base of the Cenotaph before the "Last Post" was performed as the first light of the day broke over the horizon.
And as it rang out over the crowd, a single fighter plane emerged from over the Pacific Ocean and performed a single flyover.
Afterwards, the piper started up again and the parade moved on before members of the crowd were able to lay their own poppies on the Cenotaph.
The Mount Maunganui dawn service parade. Photo / George Novak
It was Chris Skinner's first time at the Mount Maunganui service.
"It's magnificent. The light slowly coming up [over the ocean], it was very poignant. That's what I'd say anyway," he said.
"Hearing the ocean, they're very evocative sounds for an event such as this.
"You remember those fallen and of course, and if you think about Gallipoli, they were by the sea as well. For me, it all really connects."
Originally from Auckland, Skinner, a Catholic priest, was visiting family and decided to attend the Mount Maunganui service.
"This is a national day of mourning for people. It's a very powerful event for people who may not be religious but it brings out that spiritual side in them."
Hundreds of people watched the Mount Maunganui dawn service from Mount Drury. Photo / George Novak
Elsewhere, Tauranga RSA president Fred Milligan said he was ecstatic about the number of people who attended the service on Cameron Rd.
Despite a brief scare with a rain shower just before the service began, the weather remained fine.
"We had a good turnout and everyone decided they wanted to come in for breakfast, I hadn't quite calculated that but the place was packed," he said.
"It was good of them … it shows they've got faith in what we do in some ways. There were people I've never seen before, quite a few outsiders."
Milligan said it was great to be able to have the service in person again.
Poppy Taylor, 7, at the Mount Maunganui dawn service. Photo / George Novak
Sunday marked the 105 years since the first Anzac Day commemoration was held in 1916.
The Gallipoli landings took place on April 25, 1915, and every year New Zealanders and Australians remember that day.
Thousands of young men stormed the beaches on the Gallipoli Peninsula, in what is now called Turkey, where they fought for eight months.
By the end of the campaign, more than 130,000 men had died — among them were 2779 New Zealanders.
While the first and second world wars were recognised especially on Anzac Day, the remembrance service was dedicated to all Kiwis who have served in conflicts.
Former military man Leith Comer was at the Ōhinemutu service in Rotorua and said we've come a long way from the unusual lockdown services in 2020.
"The country was in lockdown and there was a lot of uncertainty."
This year marked 105 years since the first Anzac Day commemoration was held in 1916. Photo / George Novak
Comer wanted to remember the deeds of New Zealand's servicemen and women, as well as recognising the actions of the nation's warriors of today.
Anzac Day was not about glorifying war but remembering the damage associated with it, RSA national president BJ Clark told the Bay of Plenty Times last week.
"If we don't remember then we might make the same mistakes of the past," he said. "No one who has served will ever glorify war, they go as a feeling of duty.
"When we remember on Anzac Day we remember our friends and I think the other side of it is to hope that those who make the decisions to send our young people away will think carefully before they make that decision."
