Over the next three weeks, Gallipoli 100: The Birth of the Anzacs, will tell the stories of Kiwis connected to our most significant war effort. Photo / Greg Bowker
Over the next three weeks, Gallipoli 100: The Birth of the Anzacs, will tell the stories of Kiwis connected to our most significant war effort. Photo / Greg Bowker
On April 25, New Zealanders around the world will commemorate the centenary of the Anzac landings on the Gallipoli Peninsula.
The bloody and bitter campaign raged for more than eight months. Thousands of lives were lost and many more affected.
Today, the Herald begins its comprehensive coverage of this majorworld event.
Over the next three weeks, Gallipoli 100: The Birth of the Anzacs, will tell the stories of Kiwis connected to our most significant war effort.
We'll tell the story of the campaign through special publications and posters; through articles, photos, video and audio; in print, through our digital hub at nzherald.co.nz and on our mobile platforms.
Our team of award-winning, multimedia journalists will report live from Turkey. Our New Zealand newsrooms will prepare a rich range of content. We'll harness the power of social media to report how the world is marking this event.
Many made the ultimate sacrifice. We want to play our part in ensuring their efforts are recorded, respected and remembered.
If you've got a story to share about your Gallipoli connection, contact our team.
Christchurch-based Kurt Bayer is a reporter for NZME. News Service. He and his wife, Louise, visited Gallipoli in 2010, but this will be his first Anzac Day experience on the historic soil.
"We were both struck by just how small it is, and at how steep and unforgiving the rugged terrain is," he said. "It was a poignant, emotional and special experience."
NZME. News Service reporter Kurt Bayer. Photo / Dean Purcell
Kurt has worked in newspapers since he was a 10-year-old delivery boy. He left school aged 16 to work on a community newspaper.
Aged 20, he went travelling before spending 10 years as chief reporter at Scottish News Agency, providing regional coverage for Britain's national papers. Tony Blair once accused him of being Australian.
Kurt is the ghostwriter of the Sunday Times number-one bestseller, The Forgotten Highlander.
Anna Leask is the Herald's senior police reporter and has been based in the Auckland newsroom since 2010. She writes on issues including crime, emergency services and the courts and is one of our most experienced breaking-news reporters. This will be her first trip to Gallipoli.
"I've always had a huge interest in Anzac Day and the stories behind it, and have wanted to visit Gallipoli for as long as I can remember. My grandfather's uncle was killed in action on the peninsula, so being able to spend Anzac Day there is such an amazing opportunity, both journalistically and personally."
After graduating from the University of Canterbury in 2005, Anna started her career at the Star in Christchurch before moving north to report for the Herald on Sunday. In 2013, she wrote her first true crime book, about the death of Auckland teenager Christie Marceau, who was stabbed in her home. In 2014, Anna won the Canon Media Award for best crime and justice reporter.
Alan Gibson has been working as a Herald photographer and videographer for 16 years. He is based in Tauranga and covers major breaking news and events in the central North Island. He first travelled to Gallipoli in May 2000.
New Zealand Herald photographer and videographer Alan Gibson. Photo / Alan Gibson
"We deliberately decided to visit the site after the Anzac Day crowds had gone so we could spend time searching for the grave of a family member," he said.
"My great-grandmother's brother was killed during the campaign and we managed to find his grave and lay a poppy on the headstone. I am very much looking forward to returning for the centenary and to revisit the grave of our fallen family member."
Alan is a multi award-winning photographer whose accolades include press photographer of the year at the 2012 Canon Media Awards.
