Kiwis join Aussies in rallying to cause again

SYDNEY - The Anzac Day parade in Sydney passed Paa Yates by last year as he settled into a new life across the Tasman.

Yesterday Mr Yates was a new addition to the annual massed march past Sydney's wreath-covered Cenotaph to the leafy sanctuary of Hyde Park.

The Vietnam veteran has a habit of falling into line a little later than some.

His Victor Six company was one of the last to venture into Vietnam in 1970. And he waited until his 50s and the family was settled in Rotorua before he sought better opportunities across the Tasman.

"I didn't know about this. If I'd known I'd have been down here last year," he said.

Mr Yates lined up with 70 Kiwis under the black and silver banner of the New Zealand sub-branch of the Returned and Services League.

With no World War I veterans left and survivors of the 1939-45 conflict thinning out by the year, Mr Yates and his comrades will play a key role in the continuation of a New Zealand presence that is often overlooked.

"The Australian public seem to think the word Anzac means the Australian soldier," says the patron of the New Zealand RSL sub-branch, Bob Wood.

"Time and time again there's been references to Anzac but no mention about the New Zealanders.

"The Australian Government put a publication out to schools a few years ago and all soldiers were wearing Australian slouch hats. The children were taught the Anzac was an Australian soldier and nothing to do with New Zealand."

But yesterday the New Zealanders were greeted with polite applause as they strode along the parade route, the crowd response enough to give Mr Yates a tingle.

"I've had a few pats on the back. I'm quite happy," he said.

After the formalities he was looking forward to a beer and catching up with some mates from the 4th Royal Australian Regiment.

He said the talk inevitably would turn to rugby and the thorny issue of the World Cup, and he expected a fair bit of good-natured ribbing.

"I served with Aussies and I love 'em," Mr Yates said.

"We've always been together eh? That's what it's all about. We've always given each other hell - they give it to us, we give it to them."

- NZPA

Feature: Anzac Day

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