New war memorial unveiled

The War Memorial in Whangarei was celebrated at an emotional ceremony on Saturday. Photo / John Stone

The soldiers and peacekeepers from Whangarei who gave their lives in wars on foreign soil have been honoured anew with the unveiling of a new war memorial and the city Cenotaph's relocation to Laurie Hall Park.

Hundreds of members of the public, representatives from the Defence Forces, Whangarei RSA, Whangarei District Council and contractors who worked on the relocation and site improvements attended the opening ceremony on Saturday morning.

The Cenotaph statue, moved from less accessible Rose St, is now the centrepiece of a landscaped memorial bearing the names of all service men and women from the Whangarei district who have died in conflicts since World War One.

It overlooks the Field of Remembrance, the poignant formation of crosses representing those people's sacrifice. The Cenotaph's new inscription reads: "Let silent contemplation be your offering".

Weeks before the 100th Anzac commemoration, on April 25, the revamped Whangarei War Memorial is already adorned with the red poppies associated with the start of World War I, the Gallipoli campaign and the beginning of the transtasman pact that would forever be Anzac Day. After the unveiling ceremony on Saturday, the public were invited to place flowers on the Cenotaph.

RSA leader Archie Dixon described the creation of the new memorial as a great example of community organisations and Whangarei District Council working together, and a fitting way to honour not only the people the district has lost in wars, but their families' sense of loss, too.

Mr Dixon said the new memorial was a place of peace and beauty as much as remembrance.

After a solemn ceremony to unveil the Cenotaph and dedicate the site, officiated by Whangarei Mayor Sheryl Mai, young people created the field of 200 crosses.

Mr Dixon said the most moving moment in an event that was seeing 200 school pupils walking down the pathway behind the Cenotaph, each carrying a white cross. It is the sixth year in a row the Field of Remembrance has been set up at Laurie Hall Park before Anzac Day.

"It's been a process that gives young people the opportunity to understand the price of peace," Mr Dixon said.