RSA volunteers ramping up production for Poppy Day

Production is ramping up ahead of the RSA's annual Poppy Day appeal on April 21. Photo / Supplied

Production is ramping up in a tiny Christchurch factory as volunteers work to finish the final poppies for next month's Poppy Day appeal.

With 95 years of history, the Returned and Services' Association's (RSA) annual Poppy Day appeal is one of New Zealand's oldest street appeals.

On Friday, April 21 collectors will be out in force shaking the bucket and asking Kiwis to donate what they can to the cause.

The money raised by the RSA will be used to support the needs of New Zealand's 41,000 veterans - from World War II, Vietnam and those still serving today - and their families, whether or not they're members of an RSA.

"This is the one opportunity for RSAs to raise funds through the Poppy Appeal and that money is very important to allow support to not only the older veterans, but particularly the younger veterans who we are finding more and more require our support," RSA National President BJ Clark said.

The funds are used in various ways to support veterans, including assistance with dental bills, glasses, mobility scooters, and helping younger veterans suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Injury (PTSI) to find support.

"People think that perhaps the RSA has had its day, that the older veterans are passing away, and unfortunately they are, but what we are finding is that the younger veterans now, with things like PTSI, they certainly need our assistance and we can't forget that the service they are doing is as valuable as the previous veterans," Clark said.

For the last three years, the Christchurch RSA has had New Zealand's Anzac poppy contract.

It makes at least 1.25m of the iconic red badges every year, using an ingenious production machine designed and built in Christchurch.

Christchurch RSA President Pete Dawson said the idea for the machine "came over a beer", with a veteran and former electromechanical engineer now aged 96, who reckoned they could come up with a machine themselves.

University of Canterbury produced some concept plans, before the RSA enlisted the help of a local engineer and toolmaker to produce the device.

Now, at its factory in Belfast on the northern outskirts of Christchurch, volunteers can man the machine and produce a perfect poppy every 3.5-seconds.

"We're working constantly all year to produce all the poppies that are needed," Dawson says.

They have already produced 1.25m for this year and will now make another 100,000 for their own stock.

The first Poppy Day in New Zealand was held on April 24, 1922.

It was met with great public enthusiasm, with many centres selling out of their supply of poppies early in the day.

The poppy - with its red flower emblem representing sacrifice, remembrance and hope - is not only visible on Poppy Day but also Anzac Day a few days later on April 25 and at funerals of returned servicemen and women.

Donations to the 2015 Poppy Appeal - in the centenary of the Gallipoli landings - were the highest ever, with $2.5m raised.

• To donate: www.rsa.org.nz/donation