Anzac poppy blooms in cyberspace
22 Apr 2009
New Zealanders around the world gearing up to celebrate Anzac Day will be relieved to learn that rather than miss the tradition of wearing a poppy to commemorate their war heroes, they can buy a virtual one instead.
Backed by the New Zealand Returned Services Association (NZRSA), a new website - anzacpoppy.com - now allows Kiwis anywhere in the world to download ring tones and poppy images to their mobile phone in exchange for a donation of at least NZ$2.
People can also leave messages on a wall of remembrance, and every poppy sold will be 'planted' in a virtual field of remembrance.
Remembering war-time heroes
New Zealand RSA chief executive Stephen Clarke said the new internet site gave Kiwis travelling or living abroad the opportunity to remember and commemorate war-time heroes on 25 April.
The website is the work of Wellington software company Trade Mobile, who say images and ring tones bought on the anzacpoppy.com website can be sent to mobile phones on any network around the world.
Alternatively mobile users can go to m.bw.co.nz and buy a poppy directly on their phone on the content portal developed for mobile operator Black&White.
New Anzac award
At the launch of the annual poppy day appeal this week, the New Zealand government announced a new award to honour the Anzac spirit.
Veterans' Affairs Minister Judith Collins said the annual award recognised courage, comradeship, commitment and compassion honouring the efforts and achievements of an individual or group who best emulated the Anzac spirit.
The award would be for a single act or for a lifetime of effort, or for an organisation that has given service to New Zealanders or the international community.
The award would be announced prior to Anzac Day each year and the presentation made on the day. The first is to be presented on Anzac Day 2010 which will also mark the 95th anniversary of the start of the Gallipoli campaign.
Anzac Day services
Anzac Day services are planned throughout New Zealand and Australia on Saturday, and in London this year’s dawn service will be held at the Australian war memorial at Hyde Park Corner.
Numbers attending services increases every year and the NZ High Commissioner in London, Derek Leask said the service attracted not only Australian and New Zealand ex-service personnel, but people of all ages and nationalities.
"We are pleased to see the different generations attending the Anzac Day service each year," Mr Leask said.
The Australian and New Zealand war memorials are opposite each other at Hyde Park Corner, and the London dawn service alternates between the two.
Wreaths are laid each year at both, and a wreath-laying parade and ceremony will also be held at the Cenotaph on Whitehall before a service at Westminster Abbey.
European celebrations
Hundreds of Australians and New Zealanders in London have also booked to travel across the English Channel to France for Anzac Day.
One group, First Festival Travel, decided to take about 100 Australian and New Zealanders from London after the huge success of last year's inaugural ceremony.
"People are becoming more aware of the Western Front and so many people are surprised that more soldiers died there than at Gallipoli," director Chris Wilson said.
Another London tour group, The Fanatics, has hired a 60-seater coach for the trip to Villers-Bretonneux.
Spokesman Ben Parker said bookings had doubled this year and the company had turned away some people.
Gallipoli
anniversary
Tens of thousands of Australians and New Zealanders descend on Gallipoli each year to mark the anniversary of their ancestors' World War One landing.
They sleep under the stars awaiting the dawn prayer services but this year are being discouraged from making the annual pilgrimage because of fears that partying is damaging the peninsula and disrespecting the dead.
New Zealand’s national RSA president Robin Klitscher says backpackers would be better to pay their respects by staying away, and showing restraint would be "more in keeping with honouring the Anzacs who lie there forever".
A new Lonely Planet travel guide also recommends New Zealanders and Australians stay away on Anzac Day, to save the peninsula from environmental destruction.
NZ War Graves project
The New Zealand War Graves Trust is exhibiting a selection of photographs from the war graves project to coincide with Anzac Day.
The project involves photographing every war grave and memorial to New Zealanders around the world. The photos will be available online at nzwargraves.com.
There are 30,321 New Zealand war graves and memorials in 63 countries. Most are in Europe, the Middle East and around New Zealand, but monuments can also be found in such remote places as the Faroe Islands and Mozambique.
The graves are for men and women from the armed services who died in conflicts extending from the 1899 Anglo-Boer War to East Timor peacekeeping duties.
The idea for virtual war cemeteries and digital roll of honour was inspired by one family’s quest to see the picture of their loved one’s grave on the other side of the world.
The photographic exhibition is at the Ranfurly Veterans Home and Hospital in Three Kings, Auckland from 21-28 April (2009).
Anzac collection on NZ On Screen
To commemorate Anzac Day, a new collection of Anzac-related films and documentaries will be posted on the NZ On Screen website - nzonscreen.com - from 24 April.
The group of 18 Anzac titles includes profiles on New Zealand war veterans, the Returned Services Association, services around the world and historic footage.
NZ On Screen is a project designed to make the library of New Zealand television production freely available to the public. More than 380 titles are available, including television, film, music video and new media produced in New Zealand. The project is funded by NZ On Air.
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