The young woman sculptured in marble atop the Whangarei cenotaph in Rose St is destined to eventually move to Laurie Hall Park, which the RSA now favours for city Anzac Day commemoration ceremonies.
But the cenotaph may not shift until 2015, when the move would coincide with the centenary of New
Zealand troops landing at Gallipoli during World War I.
Whangarei RSA Trust chairman and Anzac Day commemorations co-ordinator Archie Dixon said a survey of RSA veterans had produced "overwhelming" support for moving the cenotaph to Laurie Hall Park.
The shift had been discussed with the Whangarei District Council, but Mr Dixon emphasised the talks were at a preliminary stage and no firm decision had yet been reached.
The veteran community wanted the city's Anzac Day dawn service moved from Rose St to Laurie Hall Park following the success of the Field of Remembrance installation at the park last year.
"The park provides a large amphitheatre for the dawn service, allowing much larger crowds to attend than could be at the ceremony in Rose St," Mr Dixon said.
The white Italian Carrara marble statue on the cenotaph portrays a sad young woman, with lowered head, left hand holding a wreath, and right hand pointing at the sky, indicating that the fallen soldiers have gone to heaven.
Erected in 1923, the cenotaph carries no reference to World War II, but has a plaque saying it is a memorial to those who died serving in New Zealand military campaigns in Korea, Malaya, Borneo and South Vietnam.
