Special guest at first Anzac Day event

MEMORIAL: Tinui's Anzac Day memorial cross, to note the first place to commemorate Anzac Day.PHOTO/FILE

Tinui's Anzac organisers say they are delighted to host Colonel Hugh McAslan as their guest speaker at this year's Tinui service.

Tinui is the first place in the world to hold an Anzac Day commemoration.

Colonel McAslan, who has an Army career spanning 26 years and has served in Bosnia, with the United Nations in South Lebanon and Jerusalem and also in East Timor and Afghanistan where he was Commanding Officer of the New Zealand contingent, will address the hundreds of people expected to gather at Tinui next Friday. There, they will remember the 36 men and women from Tinui who were killed along with 2721 New Zealanders at Gallipoli in World War I, in a special service given by the Reverend Steve Thomson of Tinui.

"The Tinui Anzac Trust is pleased that a person of Colonel McAslan's rank, military record and stature will be our guest speaker on Anzac Day," said Tinui Anzac Trust chair, Alan Emerson. "Tinui has the proud recognition of being the first place ever to commemorate Anzac Day and we hope in time that all New Zealanders will have a chance to visit our tiny village, share in our war time history and remember New Zealand's Anzac heroes."

Mr McAslan holds the Distinguished Services Decoration for his work in Afghanistan and the Chief of Army's Commendation and is currently Director of Strategic Engagements at Headquarters, New Zealand Defence Force.

Mr Emerson says it is fitting Mr McAslan is visiting the settlement being promoted as "the" place for New Zealanders to pay their respects and remember their fallen Anzac heroes on Anzac Day. In 1916 the Reverend Basil Ashcroft held a service in the Tinui Church of the Good Shepherd before leading villagers to the top of Mt Maunsell to erect a permanent memorial.

That cross became the first Anzac memorial in New Zealand of its type and stood on the hilltop for nearly 50 years before an aluminium cross replaced it in 1965.

In 2011 Tinui's Anzac Day memorial cross site was officially recognised by the Historic Places Trust with a category 1 listing after the community battled to have the site recognised by the Government.

Following the service that begins at 10.30am there will be a country style morning tea at the Tinui Hall and weather permitting; there will be a fly past of vintage aircraft at 11am. Afterwards, the hillside track leading up to the cross will be opened up to the public.