Eleven NZ Defence Force chaplains who have died while serving their country will be remembered in a commemorative service at the Wellington Cathedral of St Paul on 28 August 2015. It is one hundred years since the first NZ Defence Force chaplain was killed on active duty. The service will be attended by the Governor-General, Read more
St Peter’s College, Gore, was one of many schools to set up a Field of Remembrance to commemorate ANZAC day. During a very moving service, members of the student council placed 30 white crosses on the embankment below the Chapel. Each school and kura in New Zealand (including independent and integrated schools) has been given 30 Read more
“The future of the Church is in good hands,” Kitty McKinley, founder of Challenge 2000, says. McKinley is the founder of Challenge 2000, a youth development organisation based in Johnsonville, Wellington. On ANZAC weekend Challenge staff, volunteers, gap students and locals produced moving performances that recognised and remembered those who gave their lives and fought for Read more
A priest whose father was a Gallipoli veteran has given up the opportunity to attend the centenary celebrations in Turkey. Fr David Mullins, SM, was selected for a double pass in the New Zealand Gallipoli ballot last year. There were 9851 applicants, and only 950 double passes were issued. But Stuff reported that the retired Read more
A century ago, in a misconceived encounter on the history-soaked precipices of Asia Minor, the sons of Anzac received their battle initiation against the German-trained forces of the Ottoman Empire. Now, in an annual event that grows in mythology and status in proportion to the passing of the years, is celebrated the shared combat ordeal Read more
New Zealand Marist priest, David Mullins won selection from the New Zealand ANZAC Gallipoli 2015 centenary commemoration ballot and will travel to Gallipoli next year. Fr Mullins will join 2,000 other New Zealanders commemorating 100 years since the ANZAC landing on the peninsula in Turkey, where more than 8,500 and 2,721 New Zealand soldiers lost Read more
Anzac Day moves me. I think about the soldiers who went away as members of the British Empire and who came back as New Zealanders. I think about my Grandfather who served in Italy. I think about my shipmates I served with in the Navy and I think about the people I know who are Read more
When our pilgrim group of Sydney teachers was sitting in the ancient amphitheatre at Ephesus, another group of Australians started to sing Advance Australia Fair for the tourists from many nations. They were pleasantly surprised when our group joined them. Mostly young, they were on their way to Gallipoli, with many New Zealanders. Officials estimated Read more
This gets personal. In fact, should I even be saying all this to people I have never met? What do I say? How far do I go? These are things I never talk about with strangers. Anzac Day is one of those mysterious days. We know the meaning, only what is the meaning precisely? I Read more
The Second Battle of Passchendaele, during which 845 New Zealand soldiers died, was the blackest day in New Zealand history. Yet the battle is not well known and most Kiwis will probably go about their lives with no thought of it. But a small group is trying to put the battle back on the map. Read more