Whangarei man walks in great-grandfather's footsteps at Gallipoli

Lieutenant Colonel Olly Te Ua on top of the Apex this week, scene of a deadly Auckland Infantry Battalion advance at Gallipoli in 1915. Photo / Supplied

New Zealand Army Reservist officer Lieutenant Colonel Olly Te Ua followed in the footsteps of his great-grandfather when he walked on to the battlefields of Gallipoli on Anzac Day.

Te Ua, who was born in Whangarei and raised in Okaihau, was representing New Zealand and the New Zealand Defence Force as the contingent commander at the Anzac dawn service and the New Zealand memorial service at Chunuk Bair.

This year marks the centenary of New Zealanders returning to Gallipoli to commemorate the 1915 campaign.

Te Ua also had the honour of wearing the Ngā Tupuwae kahu huruhuru cloak at the dawn service.

"It is a privilege to be selected to wear the Ngā Tupuwae. One of my teammates from Afghanistan wore it to Gallipoli a couple of years ago, and it is great to have that shared connection with him," he said.

The cloak's pattern tells the story of all New Zealand military deployments overseas - the enduring sorrow for those whose final resting place is across oceans, and those who fought and returned, often with the unseen scars of conflict.

Te Ua's great-grandfather, Corporal Cedric Oswald Bennett, served with the Auckland Infantry Battalion as part of the 16th Waikato Company at Gallipoli from June to August 1915. In August he became ill and was taken out of the battle, and began the long journey back to New Zealand.

Te Ua said he had childhood memories of his great-grandfather.

"Unfortunately I was too small to ask him what it was like fighting at Gallipoli. Notwithstanding that, our family connection to Gallipoli is very special to me, and I am especially grateful to have the opportunity to walk in his footsteps, although in much different circumstances, 103 years later," he said.

Te Ua is the commanding officer of 3rd/6th Battalion Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment, the reserve battalion based out of Auckland, Whangarei and Tauranga.

"The best part of being a reservist is the ability to represent New Zealand and serve our country overseas," he said.

"The bonds developed with people you serve with, both in New Zealand and overseas, are lifelong, and this makes the NZDF such a unique organisation. As a reservist you can also have a mainstream career and a career in the military."