Your how-to guide for commemorating this year's Anzac Day in Northland. Photo / Tania Whyte
Covid-19 continues to hamper large-scale Anzac Day events but commemorations can continue in Northland in the shape of smaller events, or even a heritage plane flypast.
The region's plans for Anzac Day have been scaled back this year - mostly because the shift to the orange traffic light setting left little time to organise events, and as a way to protect vulnerable veterans and services members.
But the importance of Anzac Day will be made known in the skies above Northland with the Air Force Heritage Flight of New Zealand's series of flypasts in a vintage North American Harvard plane.
While the Northland flypast will likely be the most accessible way to pause and reflect on Anzac Day this year, there are plenty of events planned on the ground.
While there will be no parade through the city this year, Whangārei RSA welcomes the public to attend Anzac Day in Laurie Hall Park. The service will start at 6am and the public is advised to stay behind a fenced barrier that will be erected around the veterans, their families and the police.
Holly Taylor, who organised last year's successful event from the Whangārei RSA's new premises, said it is great to be having the ceremony back at Laurie Hall again "even though we have Omicron in the community".
"Although the mandates and limitations have been removed, we still have a responsibility for the welfare and safety of our elderly veterans. There will still be plenty of excellent viewing spots for the public outside the fenced barrier," Taylor said.
Waipū's traditional Anzac Day street march will take place this year. The march will start at 11.20 am on Cove Rd - adjacent to McLeod's Pizza Barn & Brewery - and be led by the band. It will be followed by a ceremony at 11.30am at the Monuments Carpark, after which the parade will march back to the Waipū RSA. Waipū RSA president David Wistrand said the street march was possible thanks to the generosity of Peter Rogers-Jenkin, who covered the cost of the legally-required traffic control.
Kaipara Memorial RSA will be holding Anzac services in Helensville and Parakai. The dawn parade will begin at Parakai Domain at 6am, followed by a wreath-laying ceremony at the Helensville Service Cemetery at 6.40. At 7.30 there will be an Anzac breakfast at the RSA, sponsored by Countdown Helensville, and at 9.30 the historic Harvard aircraft will fly over Helensville. The Helensville parade will begin at 11, including service and wreath-laying and at 11.30 there will be lunch at the RSA.
This year Anzac Day will be commemorated in Dargaville with a dawn parade starting at 6am at the RSA Cemetery at Old Golf Course Rd.
A private inaugural Anzac Day commemoration is being held in the afternoon by the Waitangi National Trust in partnership with the 28 Māori Battalion Tai Tokerau Association.
The event is planned to be open to the public next year and will be held in front of Te Rau Aroha Museum and the Price of Citizenship exhibition at the Treaty Grounds.
The public is welcome to pay their respects at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds Field this year. There will be 569 memorial crosses with the names of Māori service personnel killed in action and buried overseas placed on the upper Treaty Grounds as a Field of Remembrance leading up to Anzac Day. This will remain in place for a couple of weeks afterwards.
Kerikeri RSA will not be holding a public event for Anzac Day this year. There will be a dedication service at 5.45am when club members will raise a flag at the flagpole located beside the library, as the new memorial is still under construction.
Kerikeri RSA president Dave Shilton said the members' ceremony will go on for half an hour and "after that members of the public are more than welcome to turn up at any time and lay a wreath or a poppy."
"We definitely do give our apologies to the public, we'd like to make it an event every year that's worthy of remembering but circumstances have not allowed it this year, unfortunately," Shilton said.
The Te Hiku Community Board sent out a statement last week saying Kaitāia's annual Anzac Day civic ceremony at Te Ahu would regretfully not go ahead this year.
Board chairwoman Adele Gardner said the announcement of a move to the orange traffic light setting came too late for the event to be organised.
President of the Far North Kaitāia RSA, Colin (Toss) Kitchen, advised the RSA would be holding the town's only event - a dawn parade at Remembrance Park (opposite the RSA) on Matthews Ave starting at 6am.
"I would like to sincerely welcome all members of the Kaitāia community and surrounding districts to attend," he said.
At Karikari Peninsula, the public is welcome to join the Anzac Day Commemoration at Karikari Community Hall on April 25 at 11am.
Guests are asked to bring a plate of finger food to share, with any returned servicemen or women wanting to take part in the proceedings to contact Bertha on 09 4067333.
The Mangōnui Lions Club is organising an Anzac service for 11am on April 25. The club has planned for a parade to assemble at the Mangōnui Memorial Hall, which will then march to the War Memorial on Waterfront Dr, where the actual service will take place.
Ōhaeawai's Parawhenua Marae will host an Anzac Day dawn service, where people are asked to gather from 5am for a 5.30am start. The service will focus on the marae's roll of honour, paying homage to each service person and to their descendants. Anyone feeling unwell or in contact with positive Covid-19 cases is asked to remain at home and instead join the service virtually via the marae Facebook page.
The Paihia Club will hold a dawn service on Anzac Day, with assembly beginning at 5.30am, for a 6am fall in and march off. This will be followed by a service and koha breakfast. Bay of Islands Rotary is cooking breakfast and raising funds for shelter boxes to send to Ukraine. The shelter boxes contain a tent, bedding, food and other essentials to get a family of four through a month. Each box costs $1500.
The full Northland Harvard itinerary is as follows:
0930 NZWP
0932 Huapai (SH16)
0933 Waimauku (SH16)
0936 Helensville (Town Centre SH16)
0938 Kaukapakapa (SH16)
0942 Shelly Beach (Waterfront)
0951 Wellsford (Town Centre SH1)
0955 Kaiwaka (Town Centre SH1)
0958 Maungatūroto (Cnr. SH12 and Gorge Rd)
1011 Dargaville (Town Centre Victoria St)
1027 Kaikohe (Lindvart Park)
1029 Ōkaihau (Town Centre SH1)
1043 Kaitāia (Commerce St)
1046 Waipapakauri (SH1)
1053 Mangōnui (Waterfront Road)
1058 Taupo Bay (Taupo Bay Waterfront)
1107 Kerikeri (Kerikeri Domain and Pavilion)
1110 Kerikeri Airfield - Land and refuel (lunch!) at Kerikeri Airfield
1330 Kerikeri Airfield
1333 Haruru (SH11)
1335 Paihia (Waterfront SH11)
1336 Russell (Russell Wharf)
1340 Kawakawa (Town Centre SH1)
1342 Moerewa (SH1)
1351 Hikurangi (Hikurangi Sports Park)
1355 Whangārei (Town Basin Marina) and continuing south
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