A Message from the Minister
To commemorate the 95th Anniversary of the Gallipoli landings two very different groups of people will come together to remember this event that did more than any other to define the ANZAC character. One group are veterans, that range in age from their 20s to their 80s, who have served New Zealand in various conflicts and peacekeeping missions overseas.
The other will be young people – most around 17. They are in their last year of high school.
The veterans, some selected by ballot and others members of the serving personnel accompanying the contingent, and students, selected as a result of a multi-media competition – 42 in total – will be part of the official New Zealand contingent at this year’s Anzac commemorations. They will be joined by three representatives of the Cadet Force and the National Bank RSA Cyril Bassett VC Speech Competition winner and the National President of the RNZRSA.
As the 95th anniversary of the Gallipoli Landings, the commemorations at Anzac Cove will be a significant event shared by a large number of New Zealanders.
Both the veterans and the students have a special stake in the commemorations.
Each of the veterans chosen by ballot has a family connection to the Gallipoli campaign. To visit Gallipoli will be to set foot on the soil on which their forebears lived and fought.
The students, from schools around the country, were winners of a contest organised by VANZ. They were invited to prepare a project on the impact Gallipoli had on New Zealand society. The entries were of a very high standard.
These young people represent the next generation of New Zealanders who will carry forward the story of Gallipoli and the memory of the ANZACs.
By visiting Gallipoli, they will gain a greater understanding of the role of the conflict in our history, the fighting spirit of the ANZACs and the terrible cost of war.
Gallipoli has also come to symbolise New Zealand’s emerging nationhood. Even today, the events on that far-off stretch of coastline provide a common historical reference point for all New Zealanders.
The ANZACs displayed the qualities that all of us as New Zealanders aspire to – courage, humility, humanity, compassion and the willingness to stand and fight for what we believe in and to defend our way of life.
Their stories help us understand who we are and where we came from, and provide lessons from the past that help us build a better and more peaceful future.
Almost a century after the first ANZACs set foot on the shores of Anzac Cove, the conflict still has the power to bring all New Zealanders - young and old, military and civilian - together.
Hon Judith Collins, Minister of Veterans’ Affairs