Big crowd attended the Te Awamutu Anzac Day Civic Service. Photo / Dean Taylor
Te Awamutu and the surrounding areas took to the streets and memorials on Tuesday to remember those who had fallen and served their country.
On Sunday, there was a memorial service at Tokanui Hospital Cemetery near Kihikihi.
On Anzac Day itself, the annual dawn parade took place at 6am at the Te Awamutu Memorial Park Sunken Cross.
At 7.30am, the flag was raised at the Te Awamutu RSA Cemetery, and at 11am there was the annual Anzac Day Civic Parade to Anzac Green.
Te Awamutu RSA president Peter Watson says that overall it was a “fantastic day with a good turnout for both the dawn service and the civic service”.
Pirongia held a dawn service that began at 5.40am behind 5 Stags, before a silent march began towards Memorial Hall for the service.
The Ōhaupō service took place at 10.30am at War Memorial Hall.
Kāwhia had their service begin at 12.30pm at the Community Hall, then held a service at the Cenotaph at 1pm.
In Kihikihi, there was an Anzac service held at 9am. Peter noted that the event at Kihikihi is starting to grow, and around 100 people attended the service.
Te Awamutu RSA core value co-ordinator and Waipā district councillor Lou Brown says, “It was notable that we had a lot of the younger generation come along and [show their] support across all of the parades in the region.”
He adds that we are living in troubled times, and the relevance of these services is becoming more apparent.
“We are a little country of around five million people, and the cost of the confrontations was horrendous - particularly World War I and II. Even some of the other operations.”
Lou adds that a way to fully visualise the impact the wars had on the community was for people is to look at the various crosses on the Anzac Green - the civic crosses that are placed on the green are those who didn’t return, and the ones that are classed ‘adopt a cross’ represent soldiers who did come back but served.
“It gives you an idea - when you look at World War I and think of the population of approximately 6000 in Te Awamutu and the surrounding areas - there was a huge cost. Virtually every family would have either known [someone who did not return] or had a member not come back,” says Lou.
“In war, no one wins. Even the winners lose,” adds Lou.
The Te Awamutu RSA is also looking to connect to younger veterans.
“It is something I am very passionate about,” says Peter.
The RSA has a duality of roles and stays strong in its ethos of caring for those who have served and remembering those who have fallen. They are a Returned and Services’ Association, which means they are there for veterans of all types.
There are associate members - however, they join because they are wanting to be involved in the ethos.
“We had a group get-together at the Te Awamutu Community Cadet Unit on Saturday morning, and we all had a lot of fun with a fitness challenge and a barbecue. Some that attended were just out of service or still serving,” says Lou. “We have got to connect with the younger generation of service people to aid those with the transition out of the service lifestyle and [to] adjust.”
Peter adds that the community is outstanding and the support shown towards these events makes it all worthwhile.
This summer will be critical to discover if the sharks have started returning.