Northlanders lay wreath at Menin Gate, Ypres

FAMILY HONOUR: Wreath layer Stan Hansen, third from left, with his three children Ian, Sue Hansen and Eric Hansen.

Descendants of Northland's first European settler family were among those laying wreaths at the Menin Gate at Ypres to commemorate 100 years since the Battle of Passchendaele.

Ruakaka resident Eric Hansen, his father, brother and sister laid a wreath in recognition of 42 men from their family - all grandsons and great-grandsons of Bay of Islands settlers Thomas and Elizabeth Hansen - who served in World War I.

It was the largest contribution of soldiers from any New Zealand family. Nine of them fought at the Ypres Salient or Passchendaele, where three lost their lives, the bodies of two of them never recovered.

Speaker of the House David Carter, Environment Minister Nick Smith, Auckland mayor Phil Goff, Victoria Cross-winner Willie Apiata and NZ Defence boss Lieutenant General Tim Keating were among those who attended the 100th commemoration on Wednesday evening, along with senior officers from the Belgian, British, and American armed forces.

A number of wreaths were laid after the playing of the Last Post, then Dave Dobbyn performed his classic anthem, Welcome Home.

"The evening started with a projection onto the Ypres ramparts showing scenes of New Zealand's contribution to World War I," Eric Hansen said.

"The theme was From the Uttermost Ends of the Earth.

"A wake taua, named Te Hono Ki Aotearoa, arrived below the Menin Gate bridge. Several of the paddlers were descendants from soldiers in the New Zealand Maori Pioneer Battalion. They performed a rousing haka under Menin Gate."

Menin Gate is inscribed with the names of 54,000 Commonwealth soldiers killed in the Ypres Salient (Passchendaele) and is a memorial to more than 1000 missing soldiers who have no known grave.

The Menin Gate was completed on July 24, 1927, and the Last Post has been played at 8pm every night since then.

Last night, the Belgian National Service commemorated New Zealand's participation in the Battle of Passchendaele at the nearby Tyne Cot Cemetery, the resting place of more than 500 New Zealanders.

Other commemoration events include the opening of a New Zealand Memorial Poppy Garden, a tree planting in Polygon Wood, the site of another bloody 1917 battle, and a sunset service at the Buttes New British Cemetery.

The waka Te Hono ki Aotearoa (The Link to New Zealand) was made by master waka builder Hekenukumai Busby of Doubtless Bay for a museum in the Dutch city of Leiden seven years ago.

The fully carved waka is on permanent loan to the museum but can be called on, with its fully trained Dutch crew, by arts organisation Toi Maori for cultural events around Europe.