The tattered flag which was left hanging in Rose St on Anzac Day has now been replaced. Photo/Tania Whyte
The tattered flag which was left hanging in Rose St on Anzac Day has now been replaced. Photo/Tania Whyte
A tattered flag left hanging in the Whangarei CBD on Anzac Day has been replaced following a complaint.
On a day which carries the phrase "lest we forget" two of Whangarei's monuments were looking a little neglected.
The flag on Rose St, where the war memorialused to stand, was frayed at the edges while the war memorial at Parihaka had an accumulation of moss and grime.
The flag has since been replaced following a complaint from a member of the public.
Paul McDonald, Whangarei District Council parks and recreation manager, said a new flag was ready to go up before Anzac Day but through human error it did not happen.
He said the council had invested heavily in the memorialisation of war veterans through the Laurie Hall Park Memorial.
"In preparation for Anzac services at the cemetery, staff have water blasted the entire RSA area and worked with others to remove repair and replace the rotting flag pole there. This was started in mid-January and finished early April. The cemetery flagpole has been refurbished and repainted prior to Anzac day," he said.
Whangarei RSA president Chris Harold said the focus had been taken away from Rose St since the war memorialmoved to Laurie Hall Park, but the flag should have been replaced before Anzac Day.
"It's a hard area, it sounds like it was human error.
"Our Anzac co-ordinator went around to Rose St last week because someone had mentioned to him the flag was tattered but somewhere along the line the halyards had been cut short out of the reach of everyone so they couldn't get at it."
Moss accumulated on the war memorial at Parihaka. Photo/Tania Whyte
When the Advocate visited the Parihaka memorial on Wednesday a passer-by questioned why the monument "was not done so nicely".
Mr McDonald said the Parihaka war memorial was not specifically scheduled for cleaning prior to Anzac Day. It will, however, be cleaned in August.
"Algae and fungal growth occurs through wetter months so cleaning is mostly done pre-summer. Staff will propose to clean it prior to ANZAC Day in future.
"Inspections have revealed some structural maintenance and possible replacement items which require more assessment prior to works commencement, and which may determine the size of the project," he said.
Mr McDonald said the councilhad not received any complaints about the condition of the memorial at Parihaka.
