Anzac Day 2011 - New Zealand remembers
07 Apr 2011
Anzac Day - nationwide
25 April, 2011
Remembering the fallen heroes of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) will have added depth this coming Anzac Day thanks to a strengthened bond between the two countries as a result of the Christchurch earthquake.
Australia was quick to come to New Zealand’s aid in the aftermath of the February quake, and about 90 Australian police and disaster experts are still helping with the recovery.
One expert has said the unity between the two countries hasn’t been as strong since Anzac soldiers fought alongside each other during the Gallipoli campaign.
The landing of the ANZACs on the Gallipoli peninsula during WW1 on 25 April 1915, which resulted in massive loss of life, is remembered by New Zealanders and Australians throughout the world in public ceremonies and RSA functions and with wearing a red Flanders poppy.
Christchurch
Remembering the fallen will be particularly poignant in Christchurch where Kiwi and Australian service personnel and disaster experts will take time out from the earthquake recovery to attend Anzac Day services.
Another 16 Australian police and disaster experts have just arrived to supplement the 70 already stationed in the city, and the team has expressed gratitude for the warm welcome they’ve received.
While they’ve been "bowled over" by the reception and the community spirit they’ve seen in the city, New Zealanders have also expressed their heartfelt thanks for the support.
Professor Philippa Mein Smith, director of the New Zealand Australia Research Centre, is based in Christchurch and says the trans-Tasman bond is stronger than ever.
"We haven't seen anything like it since those days when the bonds of mateship were first formed in 1915."
Gallipoli 1915
The Gallipoli battle in 1915 was the first major campaign undertaken by New Zealand and Australian soldiers, and both countries suffered extensive casualties.
Among the dead were 2721 New Zealanders, almost a quarter of those who served at Gallipoli.
Each year thousands of Kiwis and Australians make a pilgrimage to the former battle field in Turkey for Anzac Day, and this year’s dawn service at Anzac Cove will mark the 96th anniversary of the Gallipoli landings.
New Zealanders have marked the landings at Gallipoli since news of the event first reached the country, and Anzac Day has been a public holiday since 1921.
Anzac Day 2011 events
The number of people attending Anzac Day events throughout the country is increasing each year, and in most regions the day begins with a sombre commemorative service at dawn - with wreath laying and the haunting sound of The Last Post played by a lone bugler.
This year’s dawn service in Christchurch has been moved from Cathedral Square because of the quake damage to the central city, and will be held in North Hagley Park. A further commemoration service will be held in the Atrium of the Air Force Museum of New Zealand in Wigram, Christchurch at 12 noon.
In central Wellington, the day will begin with a dawn parade along Lambton Quay and a service and wreath-laying at the Cenotaph outside Parliament Buildings. Further services and wreath laying ceremonies including a national commemorative service will be held in the capital city throughout the morning.
Tomb of the Unknown Warrior
From dawn to dusk there will be a vigil at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior at the National War Memorial. The Unknown Warrior - repatriated from France in 2004 - was one of more than 9000 New Zealand servicemen who died in war and have no known grave.
Following last year’s success, a commemorative concert will again be held on the night of the 25th in Wellington. The City Council will stage the ‘Anzac Concert - We'll Meet Again’ at the Wellington Town Hall as a tribute to the servicemen and women of the First and Second world wars.
In Auckland the Anzac Day programme begins with a dawn commemorative service and court of honour at the Auckland War Memorial Museum. A further service, special activities and free tours of the war memorial galleries, poppy making, poetry competitions and a war brides exhibition make up a special programme of Anzac events.
Singing soldier
And in another Anzac -related event, a Kiwi soldier is to cross the Tasman for an exercise of the vocal kind.
David Fiu, who is based at Burnham Military Camp near Christchurch, has been shortlisted to perform before an audience of thousands in an international pop group made up of serving soldiers.
He is one of six, and the only New Zealander, shortlisted for a spot in a new three-person group called The Diggers, created by British music magnates to commemorate Anzac Day. Fiu will face the final test in front of a panel of judges in Sydney.
The Diggers will record an album titled ‘Coming Home’ for release in time for Anzac Day, and proceeds will go to the Defence Force charity Legacy which supports families of soldiers killed in war, and the Christchurch Earthquake Fund.
Tinui Memorial Cross
One of New Zealand’s earliest memorials to Anzac Day - the Tinui Memorial Cross - in the Wairarapa region, has been given the Historic Places Trust’s highest recognition.
The small town, near Masterton in the lower North Island, held the country’s first Anzac Day commemoration on 25 April, 1916 - a year after the Gallipoli campaign had begun.
Tinui townfolk have been lobbying to have the site of the cross recognised for its historic and cultural significance and say the Category 1 listing helps promote the village, dubbed "the new Gallipoli" by the New Zealand Air Force.
Whangarei crosses
In Whangarei, Northland, 600 white crosses have been installed in a special Field of Remembrance to honour those who did not return from war.
The crosses were laid by students in Laurie Hall Park last month in the first stage of a 30-day Anzac commemoration - one day for every 1000 New Zealanders who did not return from war service.
Placing the crosses was the first of three ceremonies - the second will be on Anzac Day itself when names of the fallen heroes are read out as part of a dawn service, and the third ceremony, again at dawn, is on 27 April when the crosses will be removed.
Wanganui
Wanganui soldiers who died fighting in World War II are to have their names recorded on a public memorial for the first time.
The memorial project was organised by a local who served in Malaya and was concerned that the names of the 376 Wanganui men killed in World War II were recorded in books, but not on a public memorial.
The names have now been engraved in silver on a black marble slab, which is to be displayed outside the Wanganui War Memorial Hall.
The monument, which will be unveiled this month, will become a stopping place on the way to the city cenotaph during the dawn ceremony on Anzac Day.
A wreath will be laid, and 22 white crosses will be erected on either side of the memorial, recording the names of countries and campaigns in World War II.
Nelson
The annual 'Lest We Forget' Anzac experience in Nelson gives local families the chance to discover Kiwi wartime history and stories in a unique, interactive way.
The living history event - in a local park - combines theatre, music, street performance, re-enactments, static displays and audio presentations that bring Anzac and civilian war history to life. Activities include experiencing an air-raid, tasting wartime rationing recipes and finding a hidden radio room.
Nelson’s Anzac events will also include the staging of a new play - Nylons and Knicker Elastic set in an underground shelter during the London Blitz.
Anzac rugby league
Cross Tasman Anzac-related camaraderie will continue into May when earthquake-ravaged Canterbury rugby league fans are offered free trips to support the Kiwis at an Anzac test on the Gold Coast.
The game was due to be held in Christchurch on 6 May but was moved to the Gold Coast because of earthquake damage to AMI Stadium.
New Zealand Rugby League chief executive Jim Doyle said it was part of a range of events aimed at bringing "light relief" to the code's supporters in Canterbury.
The NZRL had worked with several corporate sponsors to take 250 fans from Christchurch to the Gold Coast as a way of giving families a break.
More information
Anzac Day: the day Kiwis remember
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