Katikati Marks Anzac Day with Dawn Service at War Memorial Hall

Hundreds of people gathered at the Katikati War Memorial Hall before daybreak on Anzac Day, with a sliver of moon and a lone star overhead as the community paid tribute to New Zealand servicemen and women across all eras. Returned and current service personnel stood alongside representatives from Police, Fire and Emergency New Zealand, and other service organisations outside Katikati Library at 5.55am before marching to the war memorial hall to the beat of the Katikati Band.

Katikati RSA president Trevor Gilbert noted that this year's Anzac Day carried particular weight, marking 110 years since the Gallipoli landing, 80 years since the end of World War II, and 50 years since the conclusion of the Vietnam War. Following an opening prayer, speakers took to the podium to reflect on the significance of the occasion.

Katikati College head students Hannah Gourlay and Jack Harray, accompanied by deputy head students Rajveer Sania Kaur and Charlotte Tanner, addressed the crowd. Gourlay spoke movingly of her family's personal connection to the Second World War, sharing the story of her great-uncle Andrew — the man her father was named after — who volunteered for the army with the Māori Battalion shortly after the outbreak of WWII.

Originally published in Katikati News (Sun Media).