The Kaitaia Anzac Day Dawn Service kicks off with a march from Kaitaia RSA across the road to Remembrance Park on Tuesday.
The Kaitaia Anzac Day Dawn Service kicks off with a march from Kaitaia RSA across the road to Remembrance Park on Tuesday.
Anzac Day 2023 was a “return to normal” in the Far North this year, with most commemorations back to pre-Covid-19 arrangements.
Thousands turned out to pay their respects at dawn and civic services across the region.
Servicemen and women, their whānau, friends and local communities honoured New Zealanders who’d served in wars, conflicts and peacekeeping operations around the world.
The day was also a reminder of the unique comradeship New Zealanders and Australians share.
In Kaitaia, a record crowd of around 800 people gathered at Remembrance Park despite the chilly conditions.
This year’s event was the second held since the relaxation of the Covid-19 rules.
Kaitaia RSA President Colin Kitchen thanked everyone for attending what he described as “a very moving ceremony”.
Kaitāia RSA president Colin Kitchen speaks at the Anzac Day 2023 dawn service. Photo / Myjanne Jensen
“I’m grateful to you all this morning and it just shows the respect our community has for our soldiers, ones that are still serving and those who have passed away,” Kitchen said.
“Ever since the war in Gallipoli, the men and women of our army, navy and airforce have honoured the memory of our original Anzacs and bear testament of that today at this dawn service.
“May they rest in peace.”
Graeme Baucke also spoke at the ceremony and talked about an earlier Anzac Day speech delivered by former Northland Age editor, Peter Jackson.
The eery sound of the Last Post is played at Kaitaia's Remembrance Park. Photo / Myjanne Jensen
Baucke described how Jackson had spoken of the impact of the war on his father, emotionally and mentally.
“It did impress me how you shared honestly the effect of the war on your father and the family,” Baucke said of Jackson.
The year’s dawn service was disrupted midway when the Kaitaia Fire Brigade rushed off to fight a mystery fire that engulfed a tractor while parked in a shed at Waiharara.
The owner of the orchard managed to pull the tractor outside before the shed was seriously damaged, but the tractor itself was “pretty much buggered”, Kaitaia fire chief Craig Rogers said.
The brigade extinguished the blaze and notified a fire investigator. The cause was not known.
The Houhora brigade was also called but stood down once Kaitaia had the fire under control.
At 11am, a good crowd of locals, young and old, marched from the Mangōnui Hall to the War Memorial on Waterfront Drive for the Anzac Day memorial service.
Mangōnui Lions held the annual Anzac Day Memorial service at Mangonui on Tuesday.
The Mangōnui Lions organised it, featuring wreath-laying by school students, servicemen and women and Far North District Council members Penetaui Kleskovic and Felicity Foy.
NZ First Northland candidate and former Minister for Regional Economic Development Shane Jones also delivered a formal address, speaking about the importance of service and duty.
Jones’ 9-year-old mokopuna (grandchild) Haka Hoia Kleskovic also took part in the wreath-laying.
Haka was named after his great grand-uncle Haka Mete, who was killed in WWI and is buried at Menin Gate, Ypres, Belgium.
Shane Jones, his son Tohe Kleskovic and his son, Haka Hoia Kleskovic, who was named after his great grand-uncle Haka Mete, who was killed in WW1 and is buried at Menin Gate, Ypres, Belgium.
Haka’s father Tohe Kleskovic explained that his tūpuna was only 21 when he was killed in 1917.
He said: “No one had been to his grave until 85 years after his death. My mum and whānau made the trip and took a sea shell from Hokianga.
“It was left on his grave so our tūpuna could be connected with the tides of home. My wife and I wanted a permanent reminder so we gave our son the name Haka.”
In Kerikeri, a large crowd attended the dawn service at Kerikeri Domain in a ceremony led largely by the town’s youth.
Tuesday’s service had extra significance for the town’s war veterans as it was the first at the new memorial wall in Kerikeri Domain and the first full Anzac Day service since the RSA clubrooms were sold in 2019 and subsequently demolished.
Veterans wait to march to the new memorial at Kerikeri Domain. Photo / Peter de Graaf
Services since then had been either disrupted by the Covid pandemic or held at a makeshift memorial near the library.
Kerikeri RSA president Bill Godfrey, a Vietnam veteran, put the number of people at the dawn service at up to 500.
”I’m extremely pleased with the turnout and extremely pleased with the performance of the young people.”
The new memorial wall, funded by Veterans’ Affairs, is on Kerikeri Domain between Procter Library and the Chris Booth sculpture Te Whiringa o Manokō.
Other services were held around the region, including the 75-year anniversary of Mangamuka Marae.
The whare nui (carved meeting house) named Ngāpuhi, was said to be dedicated to the memory of all New Zealand servicemen and women, Māori and Pākeha, of both world wars.
