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ANZAC Day in ... Dunedin & Otago
22 May 2007
Another bumper turnout for ANZAC Day Commemorations across the South
Dunedin’s Dawn Service at the Queens Garden Cenotaph was attended by more than 7000 people who heard an address by the Commander Joint Forces New Zealand Rear Admiral Jack Steer.
He told the crowd ANZAC day was not a glorification of war but a tribute to he sacrifices made in what was a national tragedy.
The sentiment was echoed at numerous other mid morning ANZAC parades across Dunedin and the region, from Wanaka and Ranfurly to Palmerston and Balclutha.
The one sour note in Dunedin was the graffiti attack on the Cenotaph. During Dawn Service rehearsals on the Sunday former military personnel were horrified to find a message scrawled across a marble panel. The RSA described the act as “an insult to the fallen.”
The Dunedin City Council was quick to clear off the offending message before the Wednesday morning service.
Firing parties and representatives of the 4th Otago Southland Battalion Group spread out across the region joining midmorning parades in Queenstown, Ranfurly, and Palmerston (See separate story.) The Dunedin-based medic of the 3rd Health Support teams travelled to Mosgiel and Middlemarch.
ANZAC Day around Otago
On ANZAC Day the Sigs platoon of 4th Otago Southland Battalion Group headed north from Dunedin for commemoration services in east Otago.
After firing volleys outside the Palmerston Memorial Gates they joined the march of veterans and the pipe band to the local high school hall and joined a hundred-strong congregation for the Service.
This year’s guest speaker was Lt Colonel David McBride from 3HSB who spoke of service to one’s country and how a person could be of value without actually putting on a uniform and fighting.
A guard was mounted at the local Boer War Memorial for the wreath laying before a move to Dunback where there was a march to the cenotaph for a short service and firing of volleys.
The day’s activities were rounded off with volleys fired at the Dunback domain where a memorial rock and five Chestnut trees were planted to commemorate military personnel from the surrounding districts who died during the two world wars.
This page was last reviewed on 25 May 2007 and is current.
