Thousands of Dunedin people are expected to gather for the moving service, which will commemorate 111 years since the Anzac landings at Gallipoli in 1915.
For HMNZS Toroa executive officer Lieutenant Commander Peter Gee, now in his fourth year as co-ordinator of Dunedin’s main Anzac Day services and his 10th year in the city, it is a special honour to help ensure those who served in conflicts are remembered.
Lt Cmdr Gee has served in the Royal New Zealand Navy for more than 40 years, both in the regular force operations branch and in the Naval Reserve, serving all over the world.
Organising the Anzac Day dawn service, the posy-laying service at Andersons Bay Cemetery and the service at Montecillo Veterans Home and Hospital was a privilege and a chance to pay tribute to all those who have served, Lt Cmdr Gee said.
‘‘Those people stepped up and made the sacrifice for us to have the freedoms we enjoy today,’’ he said.
‘‘So, I’m hoping for good weather and a good turnout for the dawn service this year.
‘‘The services at Andersons Bay Cemetery and Montecillo are also important and well attended, and hundreds of people attend the various community services.
Lt Cmdr Gee said attending Anzac Day services in Dunedin for the past 10 years, he had noticed a steady growth in the numbers of young people participating.
‘‘It is really good to see them there remembering ancestors and acknowledging those who gave so much for their future,’’ he said.
‘‘And it is important that younger people do take an interest, as our veterans are getting older and their numbers are dwindling.’’
The Dawn Service at the Cenotaph in Queens Gardens on Anzac Day, next Saturday, April 25, will start with a march-on parade for service personnel, veterans and descendants about 6.05am.
The service itself will officially begin with the firing of a 25-pound gun symbolising the time when Anzac forces landed at Gallipoli more than a century ago.
Master of ceremonies for the Dawn Service will be Major Dion Beker, and in attendance will be representatives of the New Zealand and Australian governments, Dunedin Mayor Sophie Barker, Otago Regional Council chairwoman Hilary Calvert, Dunedin MP Rachel Brooking, the NZDF, Dunedin RSA, and cadet forces.
The officiating chaplain will be Chaplain Leah Chrisman and the guest speaker will be Lieutenant Colonel Adam Gordon, Army general staff.
The Ode for the Fallen will be read in te reo by Crispin Garden-Webster (Major retired) and in English by Dunedin RSA president Gerry Costello (Warrant Officer First Class retired).
National anthems and hymns during the service will be performed by the Dunedin RSA Choir, St Kilda Metropolitan Brass, and City of Dunedin Pipe Band.
Following the dawn service, all will be welcome for breakfast at Araiteuru Marae in Shetland St, from 8am.
The Andersons Bay Cemetery posy-laying service, where Scouts and Guides will lay posies of rosemary on the service section graves, will start at 9.30am.
The service at Montecillo Veterans Home and Hospital will start at 11am, with a colour party from HMNZS Toroa in attendance, along with the Dunedin RSA Choir and Kaikorai Metropolitan Brass.
In the evening, the Dunedin RSA Choir will present its “Anzac Revue’’ concert from 7pm at Knox Church.
ANZAC DAY SERVICES
Following the Dawn Service on Anzac Day, commemorative services and events will be held across greater Dunedin and in Mosgiel
8am: Araiteuru Marae will host the Anzac Day, Shetland St.
8.30am: East Taieri Cemetery service.
9.30am: Posy laying service at Andersons Bay Cemetery.
9.35am: Mosgiel March/Parade – assemble at Mosgiel Memorial RSA/DCC carpark to march to Anzac Park.
10am: Anzac Park service at Mosgiel Cenotaph.
10am: Service at KiwiRail Hillside War Memorial, Hillside Rd.
11am: Service at Montecillo Veterans Home & Hospital, Bay View Rd.
11am: Outram March/Parade departs Mitchell’s Four Square to Cenotaph Service.
12.30pm: Service at Upper Junction war memorial with the Otago Military History Group.
1pm: University of Otago Anzac Day Service at the University Plaza (adjacent to the Staff Club). If wet, inside the Main Common Room, University Union.
7pm: Dunedin RSA Choir presents the Anzac Revue concert, with guest performers the Star Singers, St Kilda Brass, and Dunedin RSA Choir vocal scholar Jesse Hanan, Knox Church.
