In Papers Past it is revealed that about a thousand people gathered in the Government Garden in Rotorua on 25 April 1916, for a united commemoration service. Many returned soldiers, cadets and Boy and Girl Scouts were present. The article does not mention a parade at this point, but it was a half-day holiday ("Observances in other centres," 1916). At this point the war was still on, and it was one year since the landing of the Anzacs at Gallipoli.
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Anzac Cove. (1915). Hamilton City
Libraries: HCL_08494. |
As the next few years unfolded, what was the mood? The First World War finished in November 1918, with many men not returning home for many months to come. New Zealand had a population of 1.5 million in 1918, and had just lost 18,000 men (and women) in the conflict. 41,000 were wounded, 501 were prisoners of war (New Zealand History, 2020). Every family in New Zealand had been touched by this global conflict and the nation needed a way to remember those who had paid the ultimate sacrifice in this "war to end all wars".
According to the New Zealand Herald, Returned Soldiers with at least 20 Anzacs among them were on parade for the 1918 Anzac Service, attended by nearly 2000 people ("Anzac Day celebrated," 1918).
A newspaper article for 10 April, 1920 reported a meeting that was held with commemoration proposals outlined. These included only 1 or 2 speakers, preferably chaplains who had been at the front, with church choirs leading the singing accompanied by the orchestra, and the town band leading the military-like procession. A bier was to be erected for the placement of flowers and wreaths.
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| Celebration of Anzac day. (1920, April 10). Rotorua Chronicle |
The Anzac Day parade on the afternoon of the 25 April, 1920 was headed by a car driven by Mr Roger Delamere Dansey who had been the Postmaster at the time of the Tarawera Eruption. His 3 sons, Harry, Roger and George all served with the Pioneer Maori Battalion. Major Roger Dansey served at Gallipoli and the Western Front. (Lyall, 2015).
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| Anzac Day Parade, 1920, photographer unknown, Rotorua Museum Te Whare Taonga o Te Arawa (CP-3136) |
The parade included soldiers who had fought in South Africa in the Boer War. The parade proceeded down Arawa Street (at that time the main street of Rotorua) to the Government Gardens where nearly 3000 people gathered for the memorial service. After the wreaths and flowers were placed on the bier, soldiers fired 3 volleys, and the Last Post was sounded by the buglers. Later the wreaths and flowers were placed on soldiers' graves in the cemetery.
Earlier that morning a memorial service, presided over by Rev. F. A. Bennett, had been held in the Maori settlement, with nearly 4000 attending ("Observance in province," 1920).
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| Anzac Day Parade, 1920. Photographer unknown, Rotorua Museum Te Whare Taonga o Te Arawa (OP-769) |
The Rotorua papers of the 1930s record the national and international Anzac memorial services. In 1932 there were accounts of telegrams from the King, messages to our fellow Anzacs in Australia and the account of the opening of the Roll of Honour and Hall of Memories in the Auckland War Memorial Museum ("Message from the King," 1932). However, by 1933, concern was being expressed of some becoming indifferent to Anzac day. In 1934, the memorial service was held in the Majestic Theatre owing to bad weather, and this became the pattern for the civic services ("Anzac Day tribute," 1934). After the service the parade would then continue down to the Government Gardens for the laying of wreaths and Last Post. 1936 was the 21st anniversary of the Gallipoli landings, and the parade was led by Major Roger Dansey ("Anzac Day Rotorua ceremony," 1936). The paper of 1938 gave no account of the Anzac day services but the letters to the editor reveal disgust by former soldiers at the political input by local MP, Mr Moncur! ("Anzac Day service," 1938).
At the 1939 dawn service at Ohinemutu, the epitaph that was to be inscribed on the gravestone for Major Dansey, who had died in August 1938, was read out. The service in the Majestic Theatre had the biggest attendance since services began, with many not able to be admitted to the building, as the world once again was faced with a world war ("A dawn parade," 1939).
In 1942 there was" an impressive parade of ex-servicemen of the 1914-18 and present wars, territorial forces, Air Force personnel, school children and many other organisations on Saturday morning providing the largest parade yet seen in Rotorua for the solemn observations of Anzac Day." ("Anzac Day Parade," 1942). About 2000 took part in the outside event. In 1944 American Army and Navy personnel who were in Rotorua on leave took part in the parade ("Anzac day services at Rotorua," 1944). The first peacetime service to take place in many years, in 1946, was attended by about 3000 people ("Anzac day services at Rotorua," 1946).
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| Anzac Day Parade in Rotorua, 1942, photographer Panora Studio (Moore & Thompson), R.S.A. Collection, Rotorua Museum Te Whare o Te Arawa. (2016.17.235) |
1955 marked the 40th anniversary of the Gallipoli landings. For the first time there was mention of the Korean War, and in 1956 Korean veterans marched for the first time as three aeroplanes did a fly-over ("Short ceremony at Cenotaph," 1956).
The Photo News contained photos of the Anzac commemorations each year. A tradition of Anzac day was for RSA members to visit any comrades who were in hospital, for breakfast ("Anzac," 1965). In 1968 one woman marched. Her name was Sister M. Crooks, and she had been a nurse at Gallipoli ("Remembering the fallen," 1968).
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| Remembering the Fallen. (1986, May 11, No. 56) Rotorua Photo News, p.6 |
During the 1970s, the soldiers from the Korean, Malaysia and Vietnam conflicts joined those from the first and second world wars. By 1974 there were no longer any Boer War veterans alive. In 1978, 5 WW1 veterans headed the parade. As the final parade came to a halt, parade commander Lieutenant-Colonel McLeod called the men forward, which resulted in applause from the gathered crowd. The day before, 24 April at the RSA section of the lawn cemetery, a third generation seedling from the Lone Pine of Gallipoli was planted ("Applause showers veterans heading parade," 1978).
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| Lone Pine at Sala Street Cemetery |
Attendance numbers began rising in the 1990s, with the Rotorua civic service in 1994 attended by about 700 ("Johnson," 1994). By the end of the decade around a thousand would be attending the services. 1993 was the year that the RSA memorial wall by Queen Elizabeth Hospital was rebuild and remodelled (Team effort to rebuild memorial, 1993). Doug Dibley, the last surviving Gallipoli veteran was interviewed in 1997, saying he hoped that people would always remember Gallipoli and the Anzacs ("Never forget us, says last Anzac," 1997). That was to be the final year he attended. Below is an account of the next Anzac day service (1998) when the Anzacs were no more:
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| Parker, S. (1998, April 25). Rotorua Daily Post, p.1 |
The new millennium's Anzac Day began with a dawn service at Ohinemutu, followed by a parade to the cenotaph in the Government Gardens for wreath laying and then the civic service at the Convention Centre. The dawn service at Whakarewarewa, which for 50 years had been held at 4.30 am, was changed to 8am ("Gearing up for Anzac Day," 2000).
2005 marked 90 years from that first landing at Gallipoli. There were big write-ups in the local paper: accounts of pilgrimages to Gallipoli in honour of great-great uncles and grandfathers, revelations of diaries that survived WW1 and WW2 and poetry grieving those who died.
In 2014, WW100 was established as a nationwide venture to create events and programmes to commemorate 100 years since World War 1. This programme continued through till 2018. In Rotorua the Field of Remembrance was created in the Government Gardens with the first service being held on the 23 April 2015 to commemorate and mark Rotorua soldiers who died as a result of World War 1.
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| Consecration ceremony of the Rotorua District Field of Remembrance programme. ( 2015, April 23). Rotorua Lakes Council |
In those years following the marking of 100 years since the Anzacs first landed at Gallipoli, the numbers attending dawn services, parades and civic services have grown steadily. The pilgrimages to Gallipoli by descendants of the Anzacs, the knowledge gained through books and digital mediums which have poured into people's hands have all helped to keep alive the promise "To honour the dead and inspire the living".
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| Lewis, J. (2018). Untitled. [Painting]. Education Team, Rotorua Museum Te Whare Taonga o Te Arawa |
ANZAC references
1. Observances in other centres. (1916,
April 25). Dominion, p.6
2.
New Zealand History. (2020). First
World War by the numbers. New Zealand History. https://nzhistory.govt.nz/war/first-world-war-by-numbers#
3.
Anzac Day Celebrated. (1918, April 27) New Zealand Herald, p. 6
4.
Lyall, K. (2015). The
Empress’s plume: Rotorua’s First High School. Advocateprint
5.
Observance in province.
(1920, April 26). New Zealand
Herald, p.9
6. Anzac day: Mr Mitchell’s Bill. (1920,
August 12). New Zealand Herald, p.6
7. Local and general news. (1928,
September 18). New Zealand Herald, p.8
8. Message from the King. Imperishable
bond. Their claim on us. (1932, 26 April) Rotorua
Morning Post, p.?
9. Anzac Day Tribute. (1934, 26 April). Rotorua Morning Post, p.6
10. Anzac Day Rotorua ceremony. (1936,
April 27). Rotorua Morning Post, p.4
11. Anzac Day service. (1938, April 26). Rotorua Morning Post, p.4
12. A dawn parade: Maori tribute to
comrades. (1939, April 26). Rotorua
Morning Post, p.6
13. Short ceremony at Cenotaph. (1956,
April 26). Rotorua Post, p.7
14. Anzac. (1965, May 8, No 20). Rotorua Photo News, p.4
15. Remembering the fallen. (1968, May
11, No. 56) Rotorua Photo News, p.6
16. Applause showers veterans heading
parade. (1978, 26 April). Rotorua Daily
Post, p.1
17. Johnson, Ann-Marie. (1994, April 26) Rotorua Daily Post, p.2
18. Team effort to rebuild memorial.
(1993, April 26). Rotorua Daily Post, p.1
19. Never forget us, says last Anzac. (1997,
October 6). Rotorua Daily Post, p.1
20. Parker, S. (1998, April 25). Rotorua Daily Post, p.1
21. Gearing up for Anzac Day. (2000,
April 20). Rotorua Daily Post, p.1
22. Anzac day Parade. (1942, April 27). Rotorua Morning Post, p.4
23. Anzac Day services at Rotorua. (1944,
April 26). Rotorua Morning Post, p. 2
24. Anzac Day Services at Rotorua. (1946,
April 26). Rotorua Morning Post, p. 5
