Rawhitiroa Women’s Institute commemorates fallen soldiers with Anzac Wall

Revealing the wall, from left: Siblings and children of Anzac Lawrence M. O'Connor, Judy Brown (nee O'Connor), Margaret Nicholas (nee O'Connor) and Terry O'Connor, and Joan Cronin (nee Cave), sister of Anzacs Noel and Colin Cave. Photo / Vicki Zieltjes

An Anzac wall honouring the fallen soldiers from the First and Second World Wars has been unveiled in Rawhitiroa.

The Anzac Wall is located at the road entrance to the Rawhitiroa Memorial Pool.

Rawhitiroa Women’s Institute project manager Angela Kiser says the pool was built by the Rawhitiroa community and the returned Anzacs as a memorial to the 10 World War I and World War II soldiers from the area who died in both wars.

“It was officially opened on January 30, 1960. No services had been held at the Memorial Pool for decades.”

Rawhitiroa Women's Institute members, from left: Janice Hawkes, Angela Kiser, Lynnette Leach, Frances Steffert, Shirley Craig and Elizabeth Brown. Photo / Vicki Zieltjes

In 2021 The Rawhitiroa Women’s Institute started the Anzac Resurgence Project which initially was only to place a plaque depicting the pool’s name and reference to its Anzac history on one of the existing road gate pillars.

“That year the community held a small Anzac service to commemorate the occasion.”

She says the rest is history, with the community keen to carry on the tradition.

“We have had a lot of support from the South Taranaki District Council and various local groups and businesses. Everyone’s input and support is very much appreciated by the Institute.”

Angela Kiser was made project manager and the following year, in 2022, 43 Anzac crosses were researched and reintroduced along with a new flag pole.

For 2023 the whole entrance to the pool roadside gates has been excavated with a lawn area now especially dedicated to the Anzacs.

She says the Anzac Wall replicates the original honours board placed at the pool in 1960.

“We will also mark this Anzac Day with two other plaque unveilings. The Rawhitiroa Women’s Institute will celebrate 90 years of service to this community in October.”

She says the community is small and the history is so entwined with the fabric and history of the early pioneers, the Anzacs and their families, the pool and the Women’s Institute.

“It seems the perfect time to get everyone together to remember our community and its residents past and present.”

She says while the project is still a work in progress, it has come a long way.

“We have now basically created a new Anzac area down by and outside the roadside gates to the pool. It has been an honour to work on the project. The community is very supportive and their help has been invaluable.”