KEY POINTS:
"Not just a memorial but a place for New Zealanders in London."
This is how architect Jon Rennie sees the New Zealand Memorial, which is to be dedicated early tomorrow as a key part of Britain's Remembrance Day celebrations.
Sculptor Paul Dibble's Southern Stand will be officially unveiled
at Hyde Park Corner in an afternoon ceremony attended by Prime Minister Helen Clark, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh.
Other dignitaries include members of the royal family and 32 Kiwi war veterans. They were chosen to accompany a 250-strong New Zealand contingent, which has travelled to Britain for the occasion.
Creators of the memorial hope that it will not only be used as a war memorial, but also reflect the relationship between New Zealand and Britain.
"You think of places in London that commemorate New Zealand and you get as far as the Walkabout pub," said Mr Rennie, a London-based New Zealander who worked on the project with lead architect John Hardwick-Smith.
"We hope that the memorial will not just be used for Anzac Day and other commemorative ceremonies, but also somewhere for New Zealanders to hang out at, to come to on days like Waitangi Day, and for others to learn about New Zealand."
It was not a traditional war memorial, said Brodie Stubbs, manager of heritage operations at the Ministry of Culture and Heritage.
"This is not what you would expect a memorial to look like, yet it works on many different levels.
"You have to engage with it, walk around it and that's why it works really well. It's not something you'd stand in front of, read the inscription and move on."
Comprising 16 cross-shaped bronze standards, the memorial was laid out to cater both for formal occasions and personal reflection. Ten of the towering standards are set in a cluster that offers a focal point for laying wreaths.
The other six, which have LED lights on top, are laid out like the Southern Cross.
Looking up at the work, the enamelled tops of the markers (up to 4.5m high) resemble white crosses in a war cemetery. From the side, the standards could be soldiers going over the top.
Fran Dibble, the artist's wife and colleague, said the forward-leaning angle also showed defiance. "It's reminiscent of warriors during haka, the defensive bat in cricket and the barrel of a shouldered gun."
Each standard has a theme, from the Maori battalion to the Navy, sport and farming.
The inscriptions and images that decorate the standards are varied; there are quotes from New Zealand literature, a replica of a traditional manaia carving and the word Antipodes spelled out in shells as though written on a beach.
Although first mooted about 25 years ago, the timing of the memorial is apt. While numbers of veterans inevitably decline, remembrance is growing in popularity.
Around 2000 public tickets for the ceremony were snapped up, many by young New Zealanders living in London. "They recognise that the conflicts of the 20th century played a large part in forming the character of the nation we have today."
The dedication of the memorial will be broadcast live on TV One at 3am tomorrow, with an edited replay at 10am.
