Around 500 people gathered at the Roys Bay lakefront in Wānaka this morning (Monday April 25) for the ANZAC Day dawn service.

The service, which began at 7:00am, was led by Wānaka RSA committee member Commander Lyal Cocks RNZN (Rtd).

“Remember this is our day of remembrance,” Lyal said. 

“Remembering the people that have made the ultimate sacrifice in the past and also thinking of the people that are serving in our defence forces now to keep us safe.”

Piper Clifford Hiscoke and bugler David Leslie. 

A Catafalque Guard, made up of members of the Cromwell platoon of 2/4 Battalion RNZIR (Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment), encompassed the New Zealand flag pole during the service which included guest speaker Zoe Learmonth.

Zoe, a year 11 student at Mount Aspiring College, recalled the experience of Colin George Campbell who fought in the battle of Monte Cassino in Italy while serving in the 27th Battalion of the New Zealand Army. 

Following the service a number of attendees joined an impromptu parade up Ardmore Street to Wānaka’s cenotaph, led by piper Clifford Hiscoke. At the cenotaph wreaths were laid by local Services (Police, Fire, St John, RSA) and Deputy Mayor Calum MacLeod laid one on behalf of the Queenstown Lakes District Council.

The parade, led by piper Clifford Hiscoke, with (left) Commodore Andrew Brown, commander of New Zealand Defence Force logistics and members of the Wanaka RSA committee, makes its way up Ardmore Street.

This coincided with a formation flypast by two Tiger Moth aircraft flown by Sean Gilbertson and Lucy Newell, and two Chipmunk aircraft flown by Bevan Dewes and Grant Stewart accompanied by John Lamont. 

The same formation also conducted a flypast over an ANZAC gathering at Tarras around 11:00am.

The formation flypast this morning involved two Tiger Moths and two Chipmunk aircraft.

The national RSA stated the focus of this year’s ANZAC services was to remind New Zealanders that while the RSA was an old organisation not every member is old and younger veterans also needed support.

Although the RSA was established over 100 years ago with the purpose of taking care of New Zealand’s soldiers returning from Gallipoli, in the last three decades alone, 30,000 New Zealanders under the age of 50 have become veterans.

The Wānaka App was unable to attend the dawn service held at Lake Hāwea this year.

PHOTOS: Wānaka App