Otaki Today
A big crowd turned out at Memorial Park for the 6am Anzac Day dawn service on April 25.
It was a morning notable not only for its unusually less chilly weather, but also for the number of children attending. There were many among the crowd, listening intently and apparently fascinated by the ceremony that includes speeches, and the presence of veterans, military personnel and service groups.
The youngsters were brought along by family who wanted their children to understand why they should mark the day as one of remembrance.
Osheanya and Wiremu Ropata-Kopa were one such couple. They stood quietly with their four young children throughout the ceremony.
Osheanya said later that coming to the dawn service was a tradition with her whānau in Porirua.
“We want our tamariki to have that same tradition.”
Samuel Gardner-Seed wore his medals, earned after his assignment to East Timor-Leste from December 2009 to May 2010 with 16 Field Regiment of the Royal New Zealand Artillery.
He was keen to show his 7-year-old daughter, Hazel, how Ōtaki commemorated Anzac Day.
Hector, 100, at Sunset Retreat
D-Day veteran and former reverend Hector Davis read the prayer and received the flag during the Sunset Retreat at Ōtaki Cemetery on Anzac Day. Hector, who lives in Waikanae, had reached 100 years of age only a couple of weeks before, on April 9. He joined the Army as a cartographer with the Royal Engineers in 1943. During the D-Day landings... Keep Reading
Timor Leste veteran Samuel Gardner-Seed was at the dawn service with daughter Hazel, 7.
All photos Ōtaki Today
