Anzac Day protesters target Victoria Square
Lifesaving connections between comrades who had never met were found after the sun came up on Anzac Day and veterans marched towards a crowd gathered in Cathedral Square at dawn yesterday.
Anzac Day protesters threw dye and placards into the Bowker Fountain, defaced a Captain Cook statue, and used spraypaint to graffiti stonework in Christchurch’s Victoria Square yesterday.
Visitors to the square were left shocked, and City Care workers called in to repair damage, following the afternoon protest.
Messages left included “F*** Captain Cook”, “Free Gaza now”, “No More Western Imperialism”, ”NZDF out of Yemen“”From the river to the sea, f*** white supremacy“, ”Luxon supports genocide“, and ”Look up Surafend“, a reference to a 1918 massacre by New Zealand soldiers. Red and green spraypaint was used on stone paving and the base of the statue. Messages have also been stencilled on the paths and low stone walls.
Christchurch activist Aurora Garner Randolf said in a message to The Press that the group’s actions were part of a “co-ordinated national anti-war protest on Anzac Day”.
Protesters in Wellington put dye into the Cuba St bucket fountain, while a fountain in Auckland’s Mission Bay was also targeted.
Wellington Peace Action spokesperson Valerie Morse said their action was about “solidarity with Palestinians, and about calling our Government to account”. “This day should be about honouring the dead – whether soldiers or civilians – by putting a stop to war and genocide.”
A City Care worker in Victoria Square said they would need to drain the fountain to remove the red dye. The council-owned company also has a specialist graffiti removal team.
A Christchurch City Council spokesperson said the maintenance crew at Victoria Square would “get as much cleaned up as possible” today. It was too early for a cost estimate, she said.
“As it’s a complex process with this stone, we will have to wait ... for the trained crew to clean it up.”
Some visitors to in Victoria Square said they were “disgusted” and shocked.
Marks also remain on the Cook statue from a February attack on its nose, eyes and torso, which will cost ratepayers up to $25,000 to repair.
ACT party veterans spokesperson Mark Cameron said the “pitiful attempts to detract from Anzac Day were not indicative of the feelings of mainstream New Zealand, and received “outsized” media attention.
“Thanks for keeping me alive.”
Those were the words of an American Navy sailor who quickly thanked Christchurch veteran Kevin Smallridge after tapping his shoulder walking through Cathedral Square.
The pair hadn’t been introduced before. It was the blue-and-yellow, and green-andwhite striped medals worn across Smallridge’s chest that caught the American’s eye.
Their units would have crossed paths at Saigon in Vietnam, between 1963 and 1975 when more than 3000 New Zealand military personnel and civilian volunteers served in Vietnam. “We gave you a few rides and you gave us plenty of artillery, thanks for keeping me alive,” the sailor said as he briskly walked away.
Smallridge, a Malaya and Vietnam veteran who served for 13 years, said he believed the sailor was referring to the New Zealand 161 battery artillery. It was a connection of brothership, gratitude and respect often made at Anzac Day commemorations.
The pair were among thousands gathered by the Citizen’s War Memorial yesterday morning for the traditional dawn service, returning to Cathedral Square for only the second time since the earthquakes.
As the sun came up, war veterans and families of veterans marched towards the crowd gathered in the square as the beat of a single drum marked the start of the service.
Some displayed medals across their chest, another with a knitted red poppy badge the size of a palm worn proudly, and children crouched with their best listening ears on at the front of the cordoned off crowd.
They paraded from the nearby Worcester Bridge to the square, to the chords of the New Zealand Army Band.
“It’s quite emotional when you come in here and you see people, especially old mates that you haven’t seen for years,” Smallridge said. “It’s just [about] remembrance and respect for the people who served.”
Military life was in his blood, Smallridge said. Both his mother and father served during World War II, and so did his uncle who survived being blown up in a tanker. His brother was a member of the British Royal Navy, and he had held positions in the infantry as part of the ground troops, in transport teams and as a trainee dog handler.
The Anzac Day crowds had become bigger every year, especially since the event returned to Cathedral Square, he said.
The mood was sombre, the morning clear and calm with temperatures around 11C, and the red lights projected onto the memorial statues and square’s trees complimented the poppy pins worn in recognition.
War veteran Victor Pidgeon, 96, who served in the Korean War from 1951 to 1953, attended to especially pay tribute to his two uncles who died during World War I.
It was “one of the best Anzac Days that I’ve been to”, he said, because of the large turnout and seeing many young faces of children in attendance. He had just two friends left alive that served with him.
His daughter Alana Pidgeon said it was a “moving” service, the first of three they would attend during the day. They would also be at Little River – where her father was born – and the Akaroa Anzac Day services.
“It’s very special to come and honour all the past soldiers and military personnel that have served their country and some that haven’t come back, to especially remember those that have fallen,” she said.
Mayor Phil Mauger opened the event by thanking those who had served and continue to do so in New Zealand forces.
“As major wars once again ravage the world, albeit in distant lands, we should also remember today the countless suffering of civilians … caught up in between these conflicts,” Mauger told the crowd.
The multiple countries and wars military personnel have served in were read out, acknowledging and remembering the efforts and sacrifices of many.
MP for Waimakariri Matt Doocey delivered Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s Anzac Day message. He said however people reflected and spent Anzac Day, it “creates a special sense of unity”.
“New Zealand’s involvement in war and conflict, and the ramifications for our people, our work force and our society, have played a significant role in shaping the nation we are today,” Doocey said. He spoke of courage, comradery and decency and paid tribute to all those who have served and returned, those who have lost their lives, and the members of today’s defence force who carry onwards.
Prayers and speeches continued with musical breaks from the band performing God Save The King and the Anzac Day hymn. Some lowered their heads, others quietly sang along.
Both the Australian and New Zealand national anthems played out, the official Anzac wreath was laid and the playing of the last post closed the service.
It was a mild morning with temperatures about 11C by 6am.
Last year was the first time since the earthquakes that the service was held in Cathedral Square. Following the quakes most of the city’s Anzac Day dawn services were held at Cranmer Square, apart from in 2020 and 2022 when they were cancelled due to Covid-19.