13 May 2008

Hei tui tui ia tatou
Tuia i runga, tuia i raro
Tuia ki roto, tuia ki whaho
Tuia ita whakaro ko tahi
Te hei Maoriora
Nga mate haere, haere, haere
Tatou te hunaga ora
Tena Kotou, tena kotou tena kotou
Kia ora, Good Morning.

You know why we are here!

It is dawn …. It is the 25th of April
ANZAC …it is not a place, or a date, or an event

ANZAC is people - in uniform and supporting those in uniform – mates – who live together, fight together, and at times die together.

ANZAC is a legend forged on the beaches and rugged terrain of Gallipoli 93 years ago and sustained through the combined efforts of Australia and New Zealand in Korea, Malaya, Vietnam and more recently Timor Leste and Solomon Islands. ANZAC is also a symbol of every battle and every war or conflict that we have participated in since Gallipoli from WW2 to Bosnia and Afghanistan. ANZAC is a symbol of our nationhood.

For New Zealand, Australia and Turkey the events of 25th April 1915 are imbued in our national psyches and hundreds of thousands are standing vigil in the smallest communities, towns and cities across our nations. It is a part of our way of life.

You know why we are here.

This day is a testament to our fallen:

A.I.R. Cottle WW1; Flight Lieutenant Bennett; J and R. Comeskey, Pilot Officer T.Leckie - all WW2. But five names of some fifty or so on the Wall of Remembrance here in the RSA.

It is a testament to our veterans:

Des O’Sullivan 22nd Bn WW2; Stan Young Machine Gun Bn WW2; Britt Jones Korea; Percy Wates Vietnam and the thousands like them who have served here and overseas;

And it is a testament to those who still serve:

Cpl CJ Morgan, currently in Afghanistan, Pte SW Nicholas-Hepi and Spr MG Stallard to name just three serving in the NZ Defence Force but still calling Upper Hutt home.

You know why we are here.

ANZAC Day is strong on the imagery and symbolism of war and sacrifice:

This from a letter by Tpr James (“Will”) Harvey, Wellington Mounted Rifles 26th July:

“…Bert Green and another chap threw thirteen bombs back to the Turks. Mr Cameron was killed by a rifle bullet through the head; he was standing speaking to me at the time…… The flies here are a curse, they argue for every bite one eats. We get half a loaf of bread per man every second day and two spoonfuls of lime juice three times a week. Rum used to be issued every night, now we only get it on special occasions…People seem to think it's socks we want; in fact we’re overstocked with them. It's handkerchiefs that’s needed and an odd cake of chocolate or two….” P.S forgot to mention that a bullet scored my left shoulder on that outpost. It was a mere nothing. A bomb landed in our tucker box just where we were sitting down to lunch, yesterday, nobody hurt. The tucker and tin suffered severely…”

Will Harvey died of wounds on 2 September 1915.

But horror is not the only image of war - out of it also comes beauty and poignancy:

“In Flanders’ fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below”

LtCol John McCrae’s poem written on the Ypres salient in the spring of 1915…expressing the anguish of losing a good friend. Written in 20 minutes sitting on the back of an ambulance and describing the scene before him. It is surely one on the most memorable and evocative of all war poems. And the poppy of course has become the symbol of Anzac day.

And the image of today…for me a serving soldier, …it is not of Iraq Afghanistan or Timor Leste,

but the image of a grandparent on the 25th of April, deep in remembrance, lost in his own thoughts, holding the hand of a grandchild …innocent, carefree; perhaps a little impatient, but proudly wearing the medals of her great grandfather.

All of these are ANZAC day. We know why we are here and we rejoice in the freedom that is New Zealand.

‘ANZAC’ - our bond with Australia is as strong today as it was then and we in the New Zealand Defence Force are proud to be the NZ in that word. It is a relationship that reflects a heritage of being prepared to serve our country and the shared ideals we have with Australia: democracy and human dignity.

In a few day’s time our shared bond will be demonstrated at a special ceremony in Sydney. The Prime Minister Helen Clark will dedicate a statue of a New Zealand soldier to match the existing statue of the Australian soldier that has been on Anzac Bridge since 2000.

The statues of these two soldiers will be a fitting reminder to all of the sacrifice of the ANZAC servicemen and women, and the special heritage our two countries share.

This ANZAC tradition continues today wherever we serve together. In the Solomon Islands, Timor Leste and at sea in the Middle East we work alongside the Australian Defence Force.

On this Anzac Day, we remember those who came before but, as I have already mentioned, we also honour a new generation of men and women who are serving our country.

At 0400hr this morning a C130 aircraft landed in Ohakea with 110 soldiers sailors and airmen and women returning from a tour of duty to Afghanistan and at 0700 that same aircraft will fly out again with a small contingent bound for Timor Leste. And our ship HMNZS Te Mana is currently in the South China Sea en route the Gulf to conduct patrols in the Arabian Sea as part of our contribution to the global fight against terrorism.

Currently we have just over 700 defence force personnel deployed around the world in countries such as Timor Leste, the Sinai, Afghanistan and Solomon Islands. The work they do helps to maintain stability and peace for thousands of people around the world.

Our dead, our veterans, our servicemen and women and all those who support them – we remember and we rejoice in the freedom that is New Zealand.

We know why we are here.
Lest we forget

Noreira Tena Koutou, Tena Koutou, Tena Tatou Koutoa

Land Component Commander Brigadier Dave Gawn delivered the above speech in Upper Hutt at dawn on Anzac Day

Image Gallery - Issue 387