Pāpāmoa cenotaph to make Anzac service debut

Tauranga City Councillor for the Mount and Pāpāmoa Steve Morris and Mick O'Carroll both playing a massive part in making the cenotaph dream a reality. Photo / Caroline Fleming

Today marks a special day for Pāpāmoa veterans as their new cenotaph becomes home of the first Anzac civic service in the area.

Looking over the rolling Pāpāmoa sea, the shiny cenotaph and the flagpole designed like the mast of a ship stand tall in memory of those fallen in service.

Mick O'Carroll, the veteran who served for almost 50 years and led the charge for the erection of the memorial, said that this Anzac Day would be a special one after all the work that came together for this project.

Through a tearful voice, O'Carroll said: "I'm really proud of it."

The Mount Maunganui RSA will hold its civic service down at the Pāpāmoa war memorial for the first time.

Mount Maunganui RSA club support manager Peter Moss said the memorial was "wonderful for the Pāpāmoa community" and they were prepared for about 500 people to attend the service.

He said the service will start with four veterans marching with four flags, the New Zealand Red Ensign flag, the Australian and British flags, and the RSA flag, with local veterans following behind.

A number of speeches from community leaders, servicemen and students will take place at the service and more than 60 wreaths will be laid around the new cenotaph at the formal ceremony.

O'Carroll said the project would not have been possible without the amazing help from the Pāpāmoa community and the generous volunteers who raised thousands of dollars to fund the cenotaph and flagpole.

The journey of the memorial started back in 2017, when O'Carroll put the idea for Pāpāmoa memorial forward but was told he would need to fund the entire project himself.

O'Carroll got to work with advertising to save the $7000 needed, however, once the community got word of the project, more than $12,000 was raised in just six weeks.

He said the community support was "phenomenal" and to have it up and beaming was "so brilliant".

A smile lit up O'Carroll's face when he said that they managed to track down the six names of local servicemen who lost their lives at war to feature and be honoured on the new cenotaph.

O'Carroll and Tauranga City Councillor Steve Morris were going to wash and polish the memorial before the big service today.

The pair had big plans for the landscaping around the memorial, including the creation of world war-like trenches surrounding the cenotaph and a pathway in the shape of a koru leading to the memorial.

A book written about and signed by Willie Apiata will be raffled at the Mount Maunganui RSA this morning to raise money for the landscaping effort.