Anzac service returns to St John’s
This Anzac Day will mark the return of regular remembrance services to a memorial gate after over half a century in abeyance.
Opinions are divided as to when the memorial gate at St John’s Church in Upper Hutt was last used to host Anzac services.
People involved with the church and the Upper Hutt RSA suggest the last service was held there sometime between the 1920s and 1940s, but no-one is certain.
Upper Hutt RSA president Tom Cormack was excited to have services return to the gate which was completed in 1925 and is built of timber and stones from the Hutt River.
While a one-off ceremony was held last year when the gate was refurbished and rededicated, he hoped the 11am service on April 25 would continue as an annual event to compliment the civic dawn parade and ceremony held outside the council buildings.
The mid-morning service in Trentham would give more people the chance to attend a ceremony and was in step with other towns and cities that held both early and later services.
‘‘The RSA is completely onboard. The decision that St John’s has taken [to hold the service] allows people who otherwise couldn’t attend [to attend] - especially those people in rest homes,’’
Church plant manager John Harrison said it was fitting for a service to be held at St John’s as the church’s cemetery contained the graves and memorials of around 70 servicepeople.
The number of people now attending Anzac ceremonies was ‘‘staggering’’ and he agreed with Cormack that the event would make remembrance services in Upper Hutt more accessible.
Both men thought it appropriate the service should return to one of Upper Hutt’s original war memorials.
‘‘It rebuilds that link with Upper Hutt’s past,’’ Harrison said.
‘‘War is such a horrible thing and we have to remember those people who gave their lives for the lifestyle we all enjoy.’’
Upper Hutt City Council was advertising the service as part of its Anzac Day programme and Mayor Wayne Guppy was expected to attend. The Defence Force had also been approached to send representatives.