Anzac Day: Dannevirke service marks centenary of cenotaph

The flags are lowered on the 100-year-old Cenotaph during the Last Post.

By Dave Murdoch

On the morning of Anzac Day the strains of the Highland Pipe Band were heard in Dannevirke, as pipers and drummers wound their way from Christian Street through the trees of the Domain to the Cenotaph.

A large crowd watched as the band performed a march past, to commemorate the Ancacs but also to mark exactly 100 years to the day since the Dannevirke Cenotaph was officially opened.

The memorial took until 1924 to complete, as the community struggled to fund it alongside the need for money to help the returned veterans settle back into the district.

The order of service marked the centenary by reproducing the service sheet that was used on ANZAC Day 1924, and included early pictures and the sheet celebrating the unveiling of the memorial “In honour of those who gave up their lives in the Great War.”

Deputy Mayor Erana Peeti-Webber spoke on behalf of Mayor Tracey Collis acknowledging the passing of Dannevirke’s oldest veteran Bonnie Bodley at 102, and delivering a message from Governor General Dame Cindy Kiro calling people to remember all those who suffer.

A large turnout witnessed the Dannevirke Civic Ceremony.

The prayer and reading from Rev Ron Ashford called on people to stay true to the truth and not be led astray by others trying to manipulate – he quoted the saying that the first casualty of war was truth.

MC Major Richard Short speaks about the Cenotaph turning 100

MC Major Richard Short outlined the history of the cenotaph, using the opportunity to talk about how perception about war alters with time, pointing out that calling the 1914-18 war “great” should be questioned when subsequently WWII was even more significant and not the last war in recent times.

He said these events required modification of the cenotaph and illustrates how we have to adjust to other realities, drawing examples of changes in warfare like drone attacks in conflicts in the Ukraine and Middle East which would not have been believed possible as recently as 2019.

Following the reading of scriptures by head students of Dannevirke High School, attendees sung the hymn that was performed at the 1924 service - O God Our Help In Ages Past.

Tararua District Council’s Deputy Mayor Erana Peeti-Webber and CEO Bryan Nicholson present a wreath to be followed by Wairararapa MP Mike Butterick.

Wreaths were laid representing community organisations, led by the Tararua District Council and followed by Wairarapa MP Mike Butterick, before the official conclusion of the service with the oath, ode, the Last Post and Reveille.

Dave Murdoch is a part-time photo-journalist based in Dannevirke. For the last 11 years he has covered any community story telling good news about the district.