Anzac Day
The day marks the anniversary of the landing of New Zealand and Australian soldiers – the Anzacs – on the Gallipoli Peninsula in 1915. The aim was to capture the Dardanelles, the gateway to the Bosphorus and the Black Sea. At the end of the campaign, Gallipoli was still held by its Turkish defenders.
It may have led to a military defeat, but for many New Zealanders then and since, the Gallipoli landings meant the beginning of something else – a feeling that New Zealand had a role as a distinct nation, even as it fought on the other side of the world in the name of the British Empire.
The word Anzac is part of the culture of New Zealanders and Australians. People talk about the 'spirit of Anzac'; there are Anzac biscuits, and rugby or rugby league teams from the two countries play an Anzac Day test. The word conjures up a shared heritage of two nations, but it also has a specific meaning. Anzac is the acronym for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps.
A Public Holiday
The status of Anzac Day was not clear until the early 1920s. There was no official day of commemoration for the war. The government was prepared to move St George’s Day to 25 April and declare that day to be a government holiday. There was little support for this. Government holidays tended to be religious observances or patriotic occasions, and Dominion Day, the self-styled national day, possessed no emotional appeal.
Anzac Day had strong public appeal. In 1920 the government responded to Returned Services’ Association (RSA) lobbying for 25 April to be declared a holiday; the first was marked in 1921. Legislation making the day a holiday also closed hotels and banks and prohibited race meetings, but this did not meet RSA demands for the day to be ‘Sundayised’. Several years later the government backed down, and 25 April became a full public holiday as if it were a Sunday.
The Ceremony - Dawn Service and Parade
The Anzac Day ceremony of 25 April is rich in tradition and ritual. It is a form of military funeral and follows a particular pattern. The day's ceremonies have two major parts: one at dawn and another, more public event, later in the morning.
A typical commemoration begins with a march by returned service personnel before dawn to the local war memorial. Military personnel and returned servicemen and women form up about the memorial, joined by other members of the community. Pride of place goes to war veterans.
A short service follows with a prayer, hymns (including Kipling's 'Recessional' or 'Lest we forget') and a dedication that concludes with the fourth verse of Laurence Binyon's For the Fallen:
“They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.”
The last post is then played, and this is followed by a minute's silence and the reveille. A brief address follows, after which the hymn 'Recessional' is sung. The service concludes with a prayer and the singing of the national anthem.
Another ceremony takes place later on the morning. Returned service personnel wear their medals and march behind banners and standards. The veterans are joined by other community groups, including members of the armed forces, the Red Cross, cadets, and veterans of other countries' forces.The march proceeds to the local war memorial. Another service takes place there, and various organisations and members of the public lay wreaths. This service is a more public commemoration than the dawn service. It is less intimate and less emotional. The speech, usually by a dignitary, serviceman or returned serviceman or woman, can stress nationhood and remembrance.
The Second World War
The outbreak of war in 1939 gave a new meaning to Anzac Day. The commemorations predictably focused on the current war. Speeches appealed for people to follow the 'spirit of Anzac'. Links between the first Anzacs and women and men serving overseas were stressed. During the six years of war, public interest in the day grew, although security concerns meant that large crowds were not encouraged to gather to mark the day. The events of the Second World War made Anzac Day a time of commemoration of all the wars in which New Zealanders had taken part. Veterans from both world wars now paraded together. The day became inter-generational. Maori veterans were more in evidence too. In all, the day seemed to reflect the ideal of New Zealand as a united community. Attendance at the ceremonies increased.
Modern Anzac Day
More and more New Zealanders attend Anzac Day ceremonies in the 21st century. Being at Gallipoli on 25 April is almost a rite of passage for young Kiwis travelling overseas. Each generation of New Zealanders redefines the day to suit the mood of the times, but the last 40 years have been a time of much redefinition. The day had become more than a commemoration of New Zealand war dead and war service; it was being used to make statements about war and society. Many returned servicemen were puzzled or angry at this, but such activities breathed fresh relevance into the day. Increasingly Anzac Day was regarded as an appropriate day on which to debate defence and war-related issues. Former servicemen and politicians used the day themselves to speak out on anti-nuclear policy during the 1980s.
The Poppy
The red poppy has become a symbol of war remembrance the world over. People in many countries wear the poppy to remember those who died in war or who still serve. In many countries, the poppy is worn around Armistice Day (11 November), but in New Zealand it is most commonly seen around Anzac Day.
Memorial Park
Finding the Cache
You will not find the cache at the given location. But you would find yourself in the new Memorial Park presently being constructed to be completed in time for the 100th anniversary of the Anzac Day landings in 2015. To locate the cache find some information and solve the following simple questions.
Look for the cache at S41 1A.BCD E174 4E.FGH where
- A = ?500 Australians died in the Gallipoli Campaign
- B = Sir Alexander Godley Commander of the II Anzac Corps was born ? February 1867
- C = The sum of the digits of Armistice Day (just the day)
- D = Lance Corporal Thomas Adams died on Anzac Day aged ?1 years
- E = A half day holiday was gazetted in 191?
- F = Among the dead were ?779 New Zealanders
- G = Last digit of the year of the Anzac landing at Gallipoli plus three
- H = On the first Poppy Day appeal in New Zealand 15,?57 large poppies were sold
Before you rush out the door to look for the cache you can check your answer here
Please replace the cache how and where you found it.
Please bring your own pen.
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visit the New Zealand Recreational GPS Society forums or website. |