Thousands gather to remember the fallen
Region’s dawn and community Anzac ceremony turnouts at new levels
Thousands across Hawke’s Bay gathered at dawn for ceremonies in remembrance of Anzac Day. An estimated 2500 people were at the Sound Shell in Napier, while another couple of thousand were estimated at the Civic Square in Hastings.
Veterans, children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren proudly wore medals while waka floated off Napier’s beach and planes flew in formation in the skies over Hastings.
Hastings Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst told attendees in her speech at the Hastings service about the sacrifice made by locals in the Anzac spirit.
“Today, we remember those whose names are etched on our Roll of Honour. Ten of those men, many of them teenagers, were from the Hastings Methodist Church Bible class. Thirty-four Bible class members departed our shores for the Great War. Ten, never returned. Of the remaining 24, almost all were wounded,” Hazlehurst said.
“George Wallace Loach was among them, he ran a plumbing business with his younger brother Percy from
What I really liked was all of our local schools were there representing, considering it is school holidays. They were all there in uniform which was amazing Brayden Coldicutt
a workshop in Heretaunga Street. Wounded at the Dardanelles, in July 1915, George wrote home to comfort his father, saying he was doing quite well. A month later, at Gallipoli, on August 8, 1915, George was killed in the battle for Chunuk Bair.”
“George’s sacrifice, like so many others, epitomise the Anzac spirit, passed onto us from battlefields long ago; a spirit that lives in our hearts. Today, we pay tribute to them.”
Students from several Hawke’s Bay schools laid wreaths, Heretaunga Girl Guides marched and the Hastings Salvation Army band played for the service at the Hawke’s Bay Fallen Soldiers Memorial Hospital attended by about 350 people.
Guest speaker John White, Pou Whirinaki, spoke about “the price of citizenship and the 28th Battalion” as Hawke’s Bay East Coast Aero Club flew overhead.
Other services took place after dawn across Hawke’s Bay, including at Clive, Havelock North, Maraekakaho and Rissington.
Services continued into the early afternoon.
Taradale RSA president Brayden Coldicutt said the Taradale dawn service at 6am and civic service at 8.45am were both the biggest turnouts he had ever seen.
He estimated that more than 500 people attended the dawn service ceremony, including a 100-year-old and a 102-year-old who were both returned servicemen.
“Weather was on point which is always fantastic and it was a really well-run service. Everything went smoothly,” Coldicutt said.
The civic service opened with a parade march led by the Napier Pipe
Band and a flyover from the Royal New Zealand Air Force.
He thanked the Taradale community for taking the time and energy to come out for both services.
“What I really liked was our local schools were there representing, considering it is school holidays. They were in uniform which was amazing.”