Source: New Zealand Government
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service.
It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply important place to New Zealand and Australia.
On Anzac Day each year, New Zealanders throughout the world come to services such as this to commemorate all the men and women who have served in, and alongside, our armed forces. We especially remember those who gave their lives in defence of not only our own country, but also in defence of our friends and allies, such as Belgium.
Anzac Day marks the anniversary of the Australia and New Zealand Army Corps – the ANZACs landings at Gallipoli in 1915, which was New Zealand’s major encounter with the war.
All up, 16,000 Australians and New Zealanders landed at Gallipoli on this day 109 years ago. By day’s end, 2000 were killed or wounded.
The heavy casualties came as a particular shock as New Zealand had no previous experience of the huge toll that artillery, machine guns and the other weapons of industrial warfare could inflict.
However, as we know from looking around us at the graves and memorials here at Buttes New British Cemetery, it was by no means the last experience.
Ninety-five named New Zealanders and 378 members of the New Zealand Division who have no known grave are commemorated here, alongside more than 2000 Commonwealth servicemen.
These men are but a fraction of the immense loss of life that occurred during the First World War. More than 100,000 young New Zealanders served overseas in the war, and some 18,000 lost their lives during or soon after it ended.
Anzac Day is also a time to cherish the special bond between New Zealand and Australia. I want to acknowledge the extremely important and close relationship the New Zealand and Australian governments share, both then and now.
This bond between Australia and New Zealand may have been born on the beaches of Gallipoli but it continued on the Western Front and is evident here in the two monuments that stand over us.
Behind you, the memorial to the men from the New Zealand Division who held the line here during the cruel winter of 1917-1918. Behind me, the memorial to the men of the 5th Australian Division who secured this area during bitter fighting in the battle for Polygon Wood in 1917.
The grievous losses suffered by New Zealand in northern France and Belgium left deep scars and forged an enduring bond between our countries. It also brought grief and despair to homes across New Zealand.
The vast majority of our war dead are buried overseas, the largest contingent here in Flanders Fields, and so New Zealand families learnt to process their grief without bodies or funerals.
After both World Wars, New Zealanders who could afford it visited the graves of their loved ones. They were, especially after the First World War, considered to be going on a pilgrimage.
For most bereaved New Zealanders, however, the only pilgrimage they made to remember their loved one was on this day each year, to attend a local Anzac Day service.
That became their avenue for commemoration and the time to contemplate their loss. Here today, we keep alive that spirit of pilgrimage when we remember the sacrifice of these men and women – and indeed all those who have served New Zealand in war and conflict.
Each generation has its own struggles and crosses to bear, but those who fought in the First World War had more than their fair share of misfortune: a world war, an influenza pandemic, an economic depression of unparalleled scope and then another even more terrible global conflict. The First World War was widely seen in New Zealand and elsewhere as the ‘war to end war’.
But as we all know it was not, and our world is still ravaged by war today, in Ukraine, the Middle East and elsewhere. Today let us all think about the continuing need to stand up to those who believe might is right and who have no regard for human rights or international law. We should also consider what we can all do in the ongoing struggle for a better, peaceful world.
It is now more than a century since the end of the First World War and nearly 80 years since the end of the Second World War. The sacrifices made in those conflicts and in more recent wars, however, do not diminish with the passing of time.
Our service today is a powerful demonstration of New Zealanders and our friends and allies’ continuing commitment to honouring what these men and women did for our countries.
When we look at the names of the fallen and missing on the graves and memorials scattered through the Belgian countryside and elsewhere, we should remember that these names had faces, hopes and dreams.
We should think about what these men and women and their comrades who were lucky enough to survive endured. Think about the pain suffered, the lives cut short, the dreams unfulfilled and the grief felt by those left behind. We are bound by a determination never to forget what they and their families suffered for us. It is an honour and a duty that we gladly embrace.
This is not the first time I have been to Flanders, but it is my first Anzac Day here, and I am struck by just how moving an occasion this is. I am deeply touched by how many of you have joined us here today. Your commitment to honouring the sacrifices of our soldiers more than a 100 years ago is humbling.
I want to extend my sincere thanks to the community volunteers for their help in organising this event, and in particular those who have been here for many hours making sure we could come together and deliver this most sacred of Anzac Day rituals – the Dawn Service.
I extend thanks to our Belgian friends for allowing us to commemorate Anzac Day in this way in Flanders Fields, and for ultimately being guardians for the many New Zealand and Australian servicemen and woman who never returned home.
With the backdrop of ongoing conflict, I am encouraged by our strong unity in defending our shared values and our shared hopes for a brighter future.
We will remember them.
