Rotorua Field of Remembrance opened in moving consecration

The consecration at the Field of Remembrance. Photo/Andrew Warner

A small group gathered at dusk tonight for the consecration of the Rotorua District Field of Remembrance.

The event saw 103 white crosses installed in Government Gardens. They commemorate the Rotorua District men who died in World War I and also celebrate the men who came home and the challenges they faced.

The Field of Remembrance was first laid in 2015.

Veterans, local dignitaries, members of the public and visitors to the Government Gardens were welcomed by Monty Morrison and opened in prayer by Reverend Tom Poata.

The sound of voices gathered in hymn echoed throughout the gardens.

In his opening address Rotorua deputy mayor Dave Donaldson thanked all those who made the consecration possible.

"The field commemorates the 103 men who gave their lives so that we can enjoy the freedoms we hold dear today," he said.

Tonight's ceremony marked the fourth and final year of the centenary commemorations of World War I, which lasted from 1914 to 1918.

"Over these four years we have learned so much about World War I, the men from Rotorua who gave their lives and the state of the world at that time," Donaldson said.

This year the consecration of the crosses was completed by Father Eamon Kennedy, who blessed the field with holy water.

Bugler Rex Rees played the Last Post as the flag was lowered to half mast and the Reveille as it was raised.

Bryce Morrison and Te Arawa Maori Returned Service League read the Ode of Remembrance, from Laurence Binyon's poem For the Fallen, in English and in te reo Maori.

The crosses will be in place beneath the Cenotaph until April 29 and visitors are welcome to walk among the crosses and place personal tributes.