No Anzac banners flying on city streets

Fears of commercialising the Anzac legend stopped the Invercargill City Council from putting flags and banners on city streets.

Venture Southland distributed more than 200 centennial Anzac Day banners and flags around Southland. They went to more than 35 towns including Bluff, Winton, Lumsden, Te Anau, Riverton, Invercargill, Gore and Wyndham.

One memorial flag is flying at the Invercargill City Council and 20 banners are on display at the Southland Museum and cenotaph.

City council chief executive Richard King said he had the opportunity to buy more banners and flags but decided against it because he was concerned it would commercialise the Anzac memory.

‘‘We decided to put the banners and flags up around the museum and cenotaph because that’s where the exhibition and memorial would be.’’

This was the first time in a while that Anzac banners had been put up in the city and the council was proud of them, he said.

‘‘We decided not to have them line the main street because, I felt at that stage it would have been commercialising Anzac Day and the Anzac legend and that was something I didn’t want.’’

Venture tourism events and community general manager Bobbi Brown said the idea was to have the banners and flags in as many different locations as possible.

‘‘We wanted to show as many different communities, big and small, sharing Anzac memories together.’’

They had been displayed at school, rest homes, memorials and on streets, she said.

‘‘Venture received an overwhelming amount of interest in the banners. They were in a very high demand, everyone loves them.’’

Brown said she didn’t know why Anzac banners or flags were not put on the main streets of Invercargill.

It was up to the city council to decide where the banners were displayed, she said.