Faces change but spirit lives on

By SCOTT MacLEOD, AINSLEY THOMSON and NZPA

As the ranks of grey-haired veterans thin, a new breed is stepping forward on Anzac Day.

The nation's changing face could be seen at services throughout the country yesterday as immigrants and youths rose early to pay their respects to fallen New Zealanders they never knew.

In Auckland, dozens of Asian tourists and immigrants mingled with 2000 people at the War Memorial Museum for a commemorative service.

"New Zealand history is my history now," said 54-year-old Chinese immigrant Han Xiang Ji. "This is very special. New Zealand had many soldiers in the wars and many young boys died."

Manasa Namerua, 40, a Fijian, has been attending Anzac ceremonies for years. At first he came to remember Fijian veterans, but his respect for New Zealand soldiers has grown.

"Coming to this event makes me not only remember the Fijian soldiers, but all of the people that tried to liberate the world," he said. "I don't want to forget the fallen ones."

Japanese language teacher Kazumasa Uchiumura, who had been in New Zealand for two weeks on a working holiday, was there to learn more about the culture he would be living in.

"I want to know how the New Zealand people feel," he said. "I feel memories here."

And then there were the youngsters.

Rochelle Wood, 12, wore her great-grandfather's medals as she stood beside her father Jeff and 8000 others at the earlier dawn ceremony.

Emma Stuart, 12, said getting out of bed at 4.15am was hard but it meant she could remember the men and women who died for their country. "They did it for their country and they tried to make peace."



At 5.30am under clear skies, war veterans marched on to the parade ground at the cenotaph, the gait of many slowed by the years.

They were reminded that the service was held at dawn because at that time in 1915 the soldiers of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps landed at Anzac Cove on the Gallipoli Peninsula.

Veterans throughout the country were heartened by the big turnout of young people.

In Hawkes Bay, Taradale RSA vice-president Don Mackenzie said he was impressed by children as young as 4 wearing their grandparents' medals. In Te Awamutu, children perched on the stone walls of the town's Memorial Park to see speakers in the darkness.

An estimated 2000 people attended the dawn service in Hamilton, 5000 in Wellington and 7000 in Christchurch.

At Anzac Cove numbers were down because of security concerns. Around 5000 attended, compared with 15,000 to 17,000 in previous years.

Army chief Major-General Jerry Mateparae told a shivering but stoic Wellington crowd that Anzac Day was a time to reflect on peace as well as war.

Prime Minister Helen Clark said from Belgium that New Zealand's sacrifice in two world wars had been remembered in Europe. She is to attend Belgian commemorations today, and tomorrow will visit Le Quesnoy, the French village liberated by New Zealand soldiers in the last days of World War I.

At the dawn ceremony in Kaitaia, soldiers recently returned from East Timor stood alongside World War II veterans.

Among those at the RSA after the ceremony were Sergeant Derek Kupe and his wife Sergeant Julie Kupe. Based at Linton near Palmerston North and in Kaitaia visiting family, both served in East Timor.

Sergeant Derek Kupe said he was "the first in and last out of Timor" and was awarded the International Forces East Timor medal.

Among other Word War II veterans was 82-year-old Stan Wrack. Having reached the rank of Lance Corporal, he spent more than three years as a prisoner of war in Europe.

"And I still woke up every morning," he said of his time as a POW.

A group of sub-lieutenants from the Navy's officer training school in Devonport made the trip up to Kaitaia to attend the day's ceremonies.

Sub-lieutenant Chris Madden said they had brought two sailors from the Malaysian and Thai Navy's with them to experience their first Anzac Day.

But some of the most poignant gatherings yesterday took place over cold beers in RSA buildings.

"It's about meeting up with old comrades, finding out who has passed away," said former Navy diver Dave Webley, 61, of Auckland. "It affects you more as the years go by. The people who were close to you are no longer here."

Herald Feature: Anzac Day

Highlights of the 2002 Anzac photo exhibition: