Before the sun rose over Lake Rotorua today, locals braved the chilly weather and gathered at Ohinemutu for the Anzac Day dawn service.
The sound of bagpipes signalled the start of the formalities just before 6am.
Te Arawa Māori Returned Services League president Pererika Makiha opened the service with a mihi [welcome].
This year’s guest speaker was Dr Donna Morrison, niece of 28th Māori Battalion soldier Haane Manahi.
Manahi is the subject of a just-released feature documentary, Sgt. Haane, which was filmed and premiered in Rotorua.
In Morrison’s speech, she spoke of her uncle’s bravery on the night of April 19, 1943, at the Battle of Takrouna in Tunisia.
She said her uncle and his platoon were initially tasked with a reconnaissance exercise to assess what it would take to capture the Takrouna stronghold.
With communications lost to headquarters and in the face of unfolding battle, “these men set their own objective to take the pinnacle - a near vertical rock fortress heavily defended, almost impossible to reach”.
They came under “intense fire” and “many were cut down early in the advance”, she said.
“By first light, that platoon had been reduced to just 10 men.”
Image 1 of 33: 110 Crosses on Mount Maunganui Beach for the 110 local men who lost their lives in the First World War. Photo / Simon Dawson Photography
She said Manahi took three men up the rock “under direct fire”.
“They climbed where others believed it could not be done, and somehow that small group reached the top. A brief, brutal fight followed, and then 60 enemy soldiers surrendered.”
Morrison said on April 21, Manahi was ordered to withdraw “but he did not”.
“He went back for the wounded, for the fallen ... not when it was safe, but while the shelling continued.
“And yet for all of this, he did not seek recognition.”
Morrison said Manahi believed every soldier who served deserved recognition.
“Today, as thousands gather across Aotearoa, we are reminded that recognition is not something given lightly. It is something earned through sacrifice, through service, through standing together.
“At this dawn hour as light begins to rise, we are reminded that from darkness comes light, from sacrifice comes legacy, and from remembrance comes unity.”
Morrison also acknowledged Sir Robert (Bom) Gillies, the last surviving member of the 28th Māori Battalion who died in November 2024 aged 99.
The Rotorua Daily Post spoke to attendees after the service.
Jackie Te Weehi said she had recently left the New Zealand Army after 29 years of service.
“I’ve done Anzac since I joined the military, and Anzac to me is all about remembering those that passed on before us. I’ve done a tour over in Gallipoli, so I got to feel what it was like over there from an emotional point of view. It’s quite a surreal feeling.”
Te Weehi wore her service medals at the dawn service which she felt “privileged” to attend.
Rotorua woman Cleo Bonnington said soldiers made a “big sacrifice so we could be free”.
“Although there’s so many wars going on, we’re still free compared to other countries so we mustn’t take it for granted.”
Bonnington said she attended the service every year. This year, she was with her granddaughter and great-granddaughter.
“I think it’s so important and to show the young people too that they must come when we’re not here.”
Kim Clendon went with her sister Kiri Clendon and niece Stevie Edmonds.
“Anzac means whānau for us because we’ve been coming here for so long, ever since we were little, and to see the growth in attendance is pretty awesome,” Kim said.
“It gives us time to be together, but it also gives us time to remember why we’re here ... and to give homage back to those who aren’t with us anymore, especially down here in Muruika. There was a lot of grieving back in the day - they just kept this pā open constantly so families could be together and mourn together.
“You can kind of feel that every time we come back.
“For us, it’s only one day of the year whereas they lived a lifetime fighting for us.”
The Sir Howard Morrison Centre was packed for this year’s civic memorial service.
Rotorua Mayor Tania Tapsell introduced speakers Chief Petty Officer Lee Warncke from the Australian Defence Force and Rotorua Boys’ High School student Tristan Stewart.
In his speech, Warncke said Anzac Day was not about “glorifying war”.
“It is about acknowledging its cost. It is a day to reflect on the service willingly given, on lives lost, and on lives forever changed.”
Stewart said soldiers showed loyalty, resilience and unwavering courage during the Gallipoli campaign in 1915.
“Standing here at 17, it’s hard to comprehend the courage these brave men had shown at such a young age.”
Their example and spirit guided us today, he said.
In a world where conflict and division seemed to be ever present, “the legacy of Anzac reminds us how to lead with integrity”.
The service ended with the Australia and New Zealand national anthems and singer Nikau Grace performing her song He Aha Te Aha - a bilingual Anzac waiata to celebrate the legacy of the 28th Māori Battalion.
Rotorua locals Angela and Doug Graham told the Rotorua Daily Post they always went to an Anzac service because both their fathers fought in World War II, were captured on Crete, and were imprisoned in prisoner of war camps.
“So, it means a lot to us to remember what they went through and we have had other relatives that fought in the war too,” Angela said.
Doug said his grandfather fought in the Boer War and World War I and II.
Angela said the civic service was “absolutely beautiful”.
“The words were heartfelt and very meaningful to us.”
Megan Wilson is a health and general news reporter for the Bay of Plenty Times and the Rotorua Daily Post. She has been a journalist since 2021.