Gisborne, East Coast mark Anzac Day with dawn services and special tributes
The RSA Kapahaka roopu (formally known as Te Kapa Maumahara Ki Ngā Hōia o Tumatauenga) will acknowledge and support guest speakers with the singing of Ka Maumahara Tonu Tātou – the group's rendition of the Ode of Remembrance.
Au e Ihu (The Soldier's Hymn) will be sung on completion of the Lone Piper's Lamen t.
The waiata was first sung by the 28th Battalion as it departed Palmerston North on Anzac Day in 1940.
The battalion sang the waiata before entering battle and when mourning fallen comrades.
The Tolaga Bay service begins with a 5.30am march from the town centre to the Memorial Gates.
Eight platoons will take part in the procession, featuring representatives from the New Zealand Defence Force, Police, Fire and Emergency NZ, marae and wider community groups.
The 6am dawn service will include the unveiling of a new plaque.
Guest speaker Dr Wayne Ngata will deliver the commemorative address.
After the dawn service, attendees will make their way to the Soldiers' Plot, where two commemorative benches will be unveiled – one in honour of peacekeeping operations; the other a tribute to Ngaire Shelton for her decades of service and commitment to the Anzac kaupapa in Tolaga Bay.
A special plane flyover will also take place during the ceremony.
A community breakfast will follow at Reynolds Hall, where a special presentation will showcase all the names on the Memorial Gates.
Each name has been matched with photos, service information, medals and records of service.
At 10am, a music concert at Te Rāwheoro Marae will feature two big names in Denis Marsh and Brendon Dugan.
Friday's Herald features a story on Royal New Zealand Navy World War II veteran Ken Gordon.
He received a letter from King Charles III this week which thanked him for his wartime service.
Gordon served on HMNZS Gambia, which represented New Zealand at the Japanese surrender in Tokyo Bay.
In the Pacific war, Gambia came under attack from the air, including on one occasion from a kamikaze aircraft.
Gordon, who was part of an Oerlikon gun crew, told the New Zealand Defence Force that warfare was an experience where 'the adrenaline is really flowing. You know what to do, there's no messing about. You don't feel the fear. It's on, let's go'.
Anzac Day services in Tairāwhiti include:
6am combined dawn and civic service at the Cenotaph on The Esplanade.
5.40am fall-out from outside Gisborne District Council offices to march to the cenotaph.
Other services
Ruatōria: 6am Dawn Service Ruatōria RSA.
Tokomaru Bay: Tokomaru RSA.
Tolaga Bay: 6am, Memorial Gates.
Tikitiki: 6am, outside RSA.
Te Araroa: 6am, outside RSA.
Manutūke: Manutūkē Marae.
Muriwai: Muriwai Marae.
Pātūtahi: 10am, Cenotaph.
Te Karaka: 11am, Cenotaph.
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