New venue, new route for this year’s ANZAC Day services and parade
RSA members lead Takaka’s parade to the main ANZAC service. Photo: Maria Polglase.
RSA members, local uniformed services, the Takaka Citizens’ Band and others mustered for the “new look” ANZAC Day proceedings in Takaka last Sunday morning.
For the mid-morning service, around 70 members of the public joined Fire Service, St John, scouting, community board and local council representatives, naval personnel from the frigate HMNZS Pukaki, and others, including former Takaka Police constable Crispin Lee and his family, visiting from Melbourne.
Despite a little confusion about changes of time, parade route and venue, marchers gathered at the Junction Hotel and kept pace with the band along Reilly Street, instead of the previous Commercial Street route, finally standing to attention outside the Takaka Memorial Library where 100 chairs had been placed for Takaka’s new open-air commemorative services.
Local RSA president Teri Goodall said the reasoning behind the experimental changes was partly to do with the numbers of people attending. Despite the declining number of war veterans, crowds attending the Anzac services had been slowly increasing, he said.
“The Village Theatre was getting too small. The numbers have been growing every year. Besides, the library is the memorial, so it was fitting to hold the service there. It looked really nice at the dawn parade.” The theatre will remain the standby rain venue.
“We had the parade on Reilly Street because the road closure on the main street requires 48 days’ notice, and we found that drivers were pushing through anyway. This is more peaceful,” said Mr Goodall.
The results of this year’s trial would be discussed, he said, and some things may yet be reviewed.
“The service people ended up standing in front of the people sitting behind. We might need to find more chairs.”
The customary student address was delivered by Millie Eggers, recently selected as one of Golden Bay’s two Youth Parliament representatives.
She said the horrors of the Gallipoli campaign showed “New Zealand’s perseverance in the face of disaster” and showed ANZAC soldiers as the heroes they were, cementing our identity as a “nation that gets things done no matter how tough, how hard. No whining.”
Nor was any whining heard at the laying of the wreaths, though the shortage of autumn rain had dried out the tiny memorial lawn, making it hard to push the poppies into the earth.
“Must be a bit of a drought,” smiled one duo after paying their respects.
Maria Polglase
