In a historic first, a joint video message has been recorded by the Governor-General, The Rt Hon Dame Patsy Reddy and the Governor-General of Australia, General The Hon David Hurley to mark Anzac Day. Video / Supplied
The Last Post will not echo across Anzac Cove or at memorials around New Zealand this Anzac Day - it has been silenced by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Despite this being the first time since 1916 New Zealanders can't gather to mark the Anzac anniversary, the Governors-General of New Zealand and Australia are keeping the Anzac Day spirit alive by making an unprecedented joint address.
In their historic first address together, New Zealand's Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy and the Governor-General of Australia David Hurley said the Anzacs forged a bond in Gallipoli that made our two nations inseparable.
And now - isolated in our bubbles at homes and anxious about what lay ahead with the coronavirus pandemic - it was more important than ever to stay connected, Hurley said.
"This year, Gallipoli will not be a place of pilgrimage. The Last Post will not echo across Anzac Cove, nor at Lone Pine nor Chunuk Bair," Dame Patsy said.
"There will be no visitors to the memorials and cemeteries on Gallipoli; no expeditions up the steep ravines and ridge-lines where our forebears fought and died.
"There will be no public gatherings in our towns and cities, and no opportunities for our citizens to stand side by side to honour our veterans and pay homage to those who lost their lives in times of war."
Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy has made a historic joint address to the nation with Australia's Governor-General David Hurley. Photo / George Novak
"But many of us can still participate in an act of remembrance," Hurley said.
Aussies and Kiwis would instead - in thousands of homes on both sides of the Tasman - be taking the time today to remember the services made to our nations by our armed forces members.
Dame Patsy added that in our forebears' example, we could also find valuable lessons for today.
"We can be guided by their sense of common purpose, and the understanding that we all have a part to play in keeping each other safe and well in our current adversity – and that includes reaching out to support the vulnerable, fearful and anxious among us," she said.
"We can choose to do good – to ensure that adversity brings out the best in us."
New Zealanders will also able to tune into TVNZ at 11am to watch a special Anzac Day programme on TVNZ 1, or catch the special on TVNZ OnDemand later on.
Anzac Day 2020: Stories of Remembrance promises to honour the Anzacs in a different way with a collection of films and documentaries about Kiwi soldiers.
