A day about being a New Zealander
For one family, attending the Bluff Anzac parade has been a tradition for more than 60 years.
Gaylyn Potter said her family had been involved in the parade for more than six decades, including her father Digger Dawson and father-in-law Bill Potter, herself, daughter Julie Manson and now two grandsons Angus and Clark Manson.
The day was about showing respect and remembering those who had served, Potter said.
‘‘My father and father-in-law marched in the parade all their life.’’
Potter herself had marched in and watched the parade for more than 60 years.
Now, it was about teaching 8-year-old Angus and 5-year-old Clark about what the day meant, Potter said.
The family hoped the tradition would carry on through the next generations, she said.
For 20-year-old Jack King, commemorating those who fought, particularly those who died, at war was ‘‘worth getting out of bed for’’.
King was at the Bluff Memorial RSA, with his dad Warwick, after attending the dawn service at the Bluff RSA Memorial Grove.
His grandfather, also called Jack King, fought for six years, between 1939 to 1945, in World War II and was based in Egypt, he said.
King was wearing his grandfather’s war medals for the day.
‘‘It was not a problem getting up for the important day,’’ he said.
King said there were not many people his age who had a grandparent who fought in a war.
‘‘I made an effort to get medals out.’’
King had always attended services in either Bluff or Invercargill, and to his knowledge he had never missed one, he said.
He thought it was important for new generations to learn about the sacrifice and attend the services.
Jack, 6, and Millie Fredericksen, 4, also attended the dawn service in Bluff.
It was a special day for Jack, who said he wanted to be in the airforce when he grew up.
Their dad Brent said it was important for the children to understand what the day was all about. Jack and Millie’s third cousin fought in the airforce but was shot down and killed in Pakistan. Brent said he wanted his children to understand the sacrifices made by their ancestors.
But for nine-year-old Nehemiah Dimand, it was not family history that brought him to the service, it was just about being a New Zealander, he said.
He was there with his family to pay his respects, he said. the