Sincere tall poppy syndrome
With a little plastic tubing, corflute sheets and a paint bucket lid, Peter Tubby is finding a way to remember the fallen under lockdown.
In the Lower Hutt suburb of Wainuiomata, red poppies adorn windows, berms and fences, as people find ways to commemorate Anzac Day during lockdown, without the help of official ceremonies. The tallest poppy in the valley probably belongs to Tubby, standing over two metres tall.
The former Royal New Zealand Air Force technician said the fence decoration was his way of paying respect to New Zealand’s servicepeople in lieu of being able to attend a commemoration parade.
‘‘[Anzac Day] is one of the few times each year we can pay tribute to those people that kept our country safe.’’
It is also a tribute to his family’s military service.
His grandfather – a gunner in the Royal Field Artillery – fought in World War I and died after the conflict from complications after being gassed. His father was a product of New Zealand’s compulsory military training scheme.
The Returned and Services’ Association and Defence Force have been encouraging the public to decorate their letterboxes as part of their Stand At Dawn campaign in the leadup to Anzac Day tomorrow.
With official services having been cancelled to stop the spread of Covid-19, the organisations have suggested people stand in their bubbles at 6am to mark the occasion.
Wainuiomata Valley RSA president Bart Bartlett said up to 2000 people attended services around Wainuiomata each Anzac Day. However, this year commemorations would have to be contained within individual households. ‘‘It’s a bit of a shame but that’s the way it has to be.’’
He’d be standing in his driveway next to the four plastic poppies attached to his fence.
Recognition of Anzac Day had grown in recent years, particularly among young people, he said. ‘‘It’s not just us old [servicepeople] turning out to parades anymore.’’
Charlie Ngaheke, 9, set up his tribute of white crosses, red poppies and a sign reading ‘‘Lest we forget. They gave their today for our tomorrow’’ outside his pop’s house.
‘‘It’s to remember the fallen soldiers,’’ he said.
Take some bunting, some of Dad’s building offcuts, add a big heart – and what do you get?
For Katherine Newman, 12, of Tawa, you get an Anzac Day mini-memorial, and a chance to warm the hearts of passing walkers. Katherine and her family have created the commemorative military cemetery, complete with lines of crosses, flags and signs, on the berm across the road from her home.
The display includes flag-bunting found in the family craft box, and rows of crosses made from material courtesy of her dad, Lee Newman. ‘‘My dad’s a builder so we kind of just used some scrap wood that he had, and some paint.’’
Katherine said the idea for the Anzac display followed on from previous footpath displays created by her family during the lockdown.
They had written inspirational messages on the footpath outside their home to help cheer up passersby, she said.
‘‘We just wanted to make people happy, and we thought ‘oh, Anzac Day’s coming up’, so we made some crosses and thought it would be neat to make a memorial across the road.’’
Her mother, Nicola Newman, said the inspiration for the layout of the minimemorial came from a school display set up during Anzac Day centenary commemorations.
She said the display had a genuine impact on people walking past their home.
‘‘We’ve had so many people stop and take photos and talk, and when we were writing inspirational quotes, people would stop and read them all.’’
It was, she said, something the family could do for its community ‘‘since we can’t be part of our community right now’’.
Katherine said it was just nice seeing smiles on faces, and making people happy.
With level three restrictions looming, she said they were already trying to think of a new post-Anzac footpath display.