ANZAC Day 2006

ANZAC Day services are attracting more and more young people curious to learn about their military heritage.

At this year's ANZAC Day service at Ieper (Ypres) in Belgium, New Zealand AFS student Nikki Gunn spoke of her own discovery of discovery of the meaning of ANZAC Day.

“Since arriving in Belgium, and I speak on behalf of many of the New Zealand exchange students here today, my understanding and appreciation of the importance of ANZAC Day has grown immensely. Back in New Zealand, I will admit – I was too young, too immature and too ignorant to understand the true meaning of ANZAC Day.”

“For me, like for so many of my peers, ANZAC Day was `just another public holiday`. A day off school. A day to sleep in. A day to go out with friends. I could not understand why thousands of people would wake up so early for the Dawn Service, just to think about something that happened so many decades ago. ‘Why dwell on the past?’ I thought.”

“But now, after living in Belgium for 8 months, and after standing on the very soil where so many New Zealand soldiers fought for our country, I can honestly say that I am so embarrassed and ashamed about my ignorance and lack of comprehension. I now understand that what I earlier referred to as ‘dwelling on the past’ is in fact a very necessary and much deserved time of reflection and remembrance. A time rightfully dedicated to the thousands of soldiers who fought for New Zealand. The soldiers who fought with pride and honour. The soldiers who lost their lives while defending New Zealand.”

“It is thanks to those courageous soldiers that New Zealand began to develop a new sense of national identity. With this newfound identity, New Zealand was able to realise its own strengths. We became more certain about our place in the world, and about what our small nation could contribute and achieve. It is with thanks to those soldiers, who we remember and honour now that New Zealand has developed into the successful country it is today.
Now, for something many of you may not know – At Gallipoli alone, more than two-thirds of our dead were never identified.”

“Two-thirds of the soldiers who lost their lives while fighting for our honour have no known grave to which family might come. This is why the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior was interred at the National War Museum in Wellington in 2004. It was established in order to commemorate all New Zealanders who have died serving our country overseas. It is a focus for remembrance and is an especially moving place for those whose relatives last resting place is unknown. I will be sure to pay a special visit to the Tomb when I return to New Zealand, and I encourage those of you who have not yet visited the Tomb, to do the same, so that you, too, are able to pay your respects.”

“Everyone attending this service today has come for his or her own reasons. Everyone attending this service today has been affected by the wars in some way or another, directly or indirectly, whether they are aware of it or not.”

“As Helen Clark once said, ‘ANZAC Day is never a day for celebration. It is a day for reflection and remembrance.’ She was right. ANZAC Day gives us the chance to unite as a nation and to pay tribute to the fallen and to all those who have served our country so bravely.”

“It is a time to reflect on the qualities of past generations of New Zealanders who in hardship displayed courage, discipline, self-sacrifice, self-reliance, resourcefulness and friendship. For the New Zealand exchange students, this is a very special and memorial ANZAC Day as for many, it is their first ANZAC Day away from home and for many; it is their first ANZAC Day truly understanding and appreciating all that it stands for. It is a privilege to have this opportunity to commemorate the soldiers in the very place that they once fought, and I am sure that all the other New Zealand exchange students will agree that today has been a great learning experience.”

“Thank you for this opportunity.”

Nicky Gunn was hosted by the New Zealand Embassy who were responsible for the service at Ieper this year.

Related Link

Images of ANZAC Day 2006 at Menin Gate (Last Post Asso.)
www.lastpost.be/pictures/anzacday250406/slides

Artist in Residence (Belgium) in 2007