Matthew Soper and Beth Mitchell from the Navy cadets lay a wreath.
Photo / Tania Whyte
Matthew Soper and Beth Mitchell from the Navy cadets lay a wreath.
Photo / Tania Whyte
At least 5000 turned up to honour Anzac war veterans throughout Northland and the organisers were particularly pleased with a huge turnout of primary school-aged children at all venues.
After missing out on last year's commemorations last year due to Covid-19, Northlanders flocked to their nearest centres on a crisp morning to say "we will remember them" and the theme for this year's Anzac Day was women in the military.
"Am very happy with the turnout. The weather was good once again, we struck it right. A lot of people did miss last year and it reflected this morning," Whangārei RSA president Kevin Peachey said.
"I think the popularity is growing over the years. There are lots of younger people involved. There's more and more children coming to these parades now."
Whangārei Girls' High School head girls Aimee Clemow and Chloe Overeem read out the names of 30 war veterans who didn't return from World War I while Peachey and Echo Lillicrap were the first to lay a wreath.
Whangārei Girls High School head girls Aimee Clemow and Chloe Overeem read out the names of 30 war veterans who didn't return. Photo / Tania Whyte
Reflecting on theme for Anzac Day, Peachey told thousands at Laurie Hall Park during the dawn service the role of women in war was originally associated with weeping, waiting, and working but that has changed.
Anzac Day commemorations drawing to a close at Laurie Hall Park.
Photo / Tania Whyte
Women, he said, were currently serving in conflicts and while their military involvement in the World War I was rare, it existed.
As an example, Peachey said Russian aviator Eugenie Shakhovskaya was the first woman to become a military pilot when she flew reconnaissance missions in 1914.
"The 1914 war was very much a men's domain and it was unthinkable for a woman to fight alongside men. Yet by the end of the war, over 200,000 women were in uniform officially serving their countries."
To many, he said the idea of women in combat was abhorrent during World War I — far removed from the picture of the "ideal women" as gentle, nurturing and pacifist.
Captain Brendon Clark of the Royal New Zealand Navy said the terrible loss suffered at Gallipoli and on so many other battlefields brought grief and loss to many homes across New Zealand.
Whangārei RSA president Kevin Peachey, Echo Lillicrapp, Mayor Sheryl Mai and Major Roberta Wilkinson at the cenotaph.
Photo / Tania Whyte
Over the past year, at any one time, he said about 1200 of our sailors, soldiers, airmen, and airwomen have been contributing directly to New Zealander's Covid-19 response by being at the frontline in managed isolation quarantine facilities.
"There's no doubt that this work has challenged our personnel and their families. The operation has also demonstrated that military personnel are dedicated professionals who have committed to upholding New Zealand's national interests and the principles we all hold so dear, both at home and abroad.
"Today we also acknowledge that this modern service just as it was in the past, never without costs and sacrifices. The men and women of the armed forces choose to serve. Our families do not. And for that very reason we must acknowledge the sacrifice that our whanau make thereby enabling us to serve."
United Kingdom defence adviser to New Zealand, Wing Commander Andrew Bryant, spoke about supporting war veterans and the challenges they might face in terms of mental health which was just as challenging and perhaps more important than physical health at times.
"So on this Anzac Day, we think carefully and challenge ourselves about how our actions might help, whether through making a donation, or things that we might do differently.
"Service takes many forms and whilst we remember those on the battle field, it is right that we become better at recognising those who served in other ways, whether caring for families and whānau," he said.
In the mid and Far North, hundreds of people of all ages turned out to Kerikeri and Paihia Anzac Day dawn services to honour the fallen, and all those who have served their country.
Lance Corporal Gemma Love from the Kerikeri Cadet unit lays a wreath.
Photo / Jenny Ling
In Kerikeri alone, a crowd of around 500 gathered at the Kerikeri Domain outside the Procter library to pay their respects on a clear morning.
At 6am, the lone piper could be heard playing bagpipes as returned servicemen and women along with RSA members, Fire and Emergency staff and school cadets marched from the street through the gates of the domain.
Far North District Council chief executive Shaun Clarke spoke to the crowd about the loss of life during World War I. He was followed by numerous other speakers who spoke of the incredible sacrifice soldiers made, their courage and the impact on families.
After hymns were sung, there was a minute of silence before the Last Post was played. The roll was called for locals who served in World War I and II, and the Vietnam War, before the bagpipes sounded out once more.
The head boy and head girl of Springbank School recited poems before the laying of the wreaths.
The New Zealand and Australian national anthems were played, then the parade filed out of the domain and members of the public were invited to lay poppies alongside the wreaths.
Tapuhi service organiser Kevin Judkins, formerly of the Merchant Navy, spoke of the failure of post-World War I peace. Photo / Peter de Graaf
It wasn't just the main centres that marked Anzac Day — all over Northland people gathered to remember the dead at events big and small.
Some services were organised by RSAs, formal and full of ceremony, while in smaller places locals commemorated past sacrifices in their own way.
One such place was Tapuhi, in farmland about 10km north of Hukerenui, where a lovingly restored memorial is inscribed with the names of local men who died in World War I.
More than 120 people turned out for the 9am service which even featured a fly-past by a Cessna, a piper and a gun salute by Taumarere's Roger Crowden firing an 1823 eight-bore rifle.
Roger Crowden of Taumarere fires an eight-bore rifle made in London in 1823 during the Anzac Day service at Tapuhi, near Hukerenui. Photo / Peter de Graaf
It was very much a community event with speeches, the last post and a chance to lay flowers at the monument.
Chairs and tables borrowed from Hukerenui Hall were set up on the road so locals could catch up afterwards over tea, cake and home-made Anzac biscuits.
Organiser Kevin Judkins, a former captain in the Merchant Navy, spoke about how the treaty that ended World War I, instead of bringing peace, spawned a raft of new conflicts across Europe and the Middle East which continued to be felt today.
Anna Judkins of Tapuhi, left, and Anne Meads of Puhipuhi catch up over a cuppa after the service. Photo / Peter de Graaf
He also remembered two Tapuhi servicemen who had passed away recently, Stan Hayes and Glynn Henwood.
Henwood had the foresight 20 years ago to plant two kauri behind the monument. Already more than 10m tall they form the number 11, the number of names inscribed on the monument.
It was the 101st anniversary of the first service held at Tapuhi monument. The obelisk and surrounding pillars, which were originally topped with real cannon balls, was forgotten and overgrown by the 1990s when locals restored it and resumed Anzac Day services.
Tapuhi's World War I memorial, erected in 1921, has been lovingly restored by local residents. Photo / Peter de Graaf
