- Anzac Day services are under way around New Zealand today.
- The national remembrance day services begin at dawn and continue through the day.
- Prime Minister Christopher Luxon will attend services in Gallipoli later today (NZT).
Thousands have gathered for Anzac Day services around the country as Kiwis remember our fallen servicemen and women.
Crowds flocked to Auckland Domain on Park Rd for the dawn service, which also recognises the past and present service of thousands of men and women in the country’s Army, Navy and Air Force.
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After a 5.45am parade, the service began at 6am at the Court of Honour and Cenotaph outside the Tāmaki Paenga Hira Auckland War Memorial Museum in the Domain. A light rain started to fall as the service began.
“Let’s just pause in the dark and the silence and remember all those New Zealanders who have died in service,” Dr Stephen Clarke of Auckland RSA told those gathered.
Governor-General Dame Cindy Kiro gave the Anzac address, speaking first in te reo and then English.
“From the darkness comes the dawning, oh you my ancestors. .. look now upon your descendants. We weep and pay our respects to you as you return … to your marae.”
A special welcome to the people who have served, and those who are currently serving, Kiro said.
“And we’re here to express our deep sorrow to those who never returned, or who subsequently died of their wounds.”
It has been 80 years since World War II ended, Kiro noted, but added that the trauma of loss “lingers for generations”.
To those serving now, “ we thank you”, understanding the toll it took, Kiro said.
Auckland’s service was briefly disrupted when a soldier fainted and needed help from two fellow soldiers.
Kiro then took part in the laying of the wreaths, one of which was laid on behalf of King Charles. Wreaths were also laid on behalf of the governments and people of New Zealand and Australia. Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown laid a wreath on behalf of Aucklanders.
The mayor of Arras, France, laid a wreath on behalf of the people of his city, which holds significant historical importance for Anzacs because of the 1917 battle where Australian and New Zealand troops fought alongside the British. New Zealand soldiers also contributed to a vital extensive underground tunnel system under Arras.
Other wreaths were laid at the Auckland Domain dawn service on behalf of the RSA, police and the Auckland War Memorial Museum.
In Wellington, the dawn service also began at 6am at the Pukeahu National War Memorial Park in Buckle St, with the national commemoration to follow at the same site from 11am.
The service began with the lament We Will Remember Them played on the bagpipes.
Taranaki iwi kaumatua Peter Jackson gave a speech in te reo to the crowds, before a prayer was read by Chaplin James Maloney in Wellington.
“We give thanks for their selflessness and enduring legacy... we also remember those who returned... whose loved ones were never the same.
“May we also be peacemakers in our time.”
Finance Minister Nicola Willis gave the Anzac Day address, welcoming veterans watching in person and at home. She thanked the people who joined her stage, including board members of the RSA, Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau and Defence Force members.
“We gather in the darkness to remember all those we have lost in war.”
“As we look for the first light, we connect with each other.”
Willis ended her speech with “promises of a new dawn” and her aspirations for a peaceful world.
Ambassador for the Republic of Turkey to New Zealand Omur Unsay is now delivering a speech on behalf of her country.
In Christchurch, war veterans gathered at 6.15am to parade from Worcester Bridge to Cathedral Square for the city’s traditional dawn service.
Details of other Anzac Day events taking place in other parts of the country today can be found here.
There will be many opportunities to learn more about Kiwis’ service in international conflicts over the past 111 years.
The doors open at Auckland War Memorial Museum immediately after the city’s dawn service, with multiple programmes planned to help those interested in learning more.
Entry is free until the museum closes at 5pm. The museum’s underground carpark will also be free all day.
MyHeritage is also opening up free access to 2.3 billion historical records from New Zealand and Australia until April 29, including military records.
The Royal New Zealand Air Force is planning flypasts in various aircraft around the country today, including in NH90 and Seasprite helicopters.
A list of times and places for the weather-dependant fly-pasts is here.
Overseas Anzac services are also planned later today (NZT), including in Gallipoli, where Prime Minister Christopher Luxon will take part before travelling to Rome for Pope Francis’ funeral the following day.
The Gallipoli services come on the 110th anniversary of the New Zealand and Australian troops landing on the beaches of the Turkish peninsula in a disastrous nine-month campaign that quickly turned to trench warfare and cost 130,000 lives - 2779 of them Kiwis.
April 25 was subsequently chosen as the annual day to commemorate all fallen servicemen and women across New Zealand and Australia.
