THE EXTENT of the Gallipoli landings by New Zealand soldiers on 25 April 1915 wasn't fully known until many days after, and early reports for one reason or another somewhat distorted what had actually occurred.
However when the Roll of Honour listing the dead and wounded began to appear in the Napier and Hastings newspapers during May 1915 from a war many had expected to not occur, or be over by Christmas 1914 a sense of shock set in.
The next year the public of both Australia and New Zealand wished to commemorate the landings at Gallipoli of their troops, and remember those who had been killed. The government gave a half day for this purpose from 1pm on 25 April 1916. In London an Anzac Day service was held in Westminster Abbey, London for Australian and New Zealand soldiers who marched down the Strand and Whitehall to the Abbey.
Hastings held its 1916 Anzac Day service at night in the Municipal Theatre, while Napier held theirs on the Marine Parade in front of the Masonic Hotel. The format of the Anzac Day service in Hastings came under the influence of Dr Ernest Boxer (1875 - 1927) president of the Hastings and later National RSA. This commemoration in Hastings took the form of a war-time burial re-enactment, and as such was a solemn and mournful occasion, and applause was forbidden for speeches or musical items. This format became known as the "Boxer Service", and Dr Boxer tried to standardise this across New Zealand - with many towns adopting it. The rationale, he explained, was that many family and friends could obviously not attend the funerals of thousands of our young men killed overseas. While the returned soldiers might not want this type of service, they could reminisce later of their deeds at the RSA clubrooms. So the service was aimed at allowing families to grieve for their loss in a formal setting. While the Hastings Boxer Service was has changed over time, his its legacy today can still be seen in elements of the modern service, with solemnity and respect a key part.
Steps were taken to protect the Anzac name, so it could not be commercially exploited and the RSAs in particular wanted a full holiday to be given and commercial activities to cease on this day, and to be treated like a holy day such as Easter or Christmas. A full day holiday was given in 1922.