Rere ana nga roimata o Hine tērā te pae o Te Riri. Huihuia mai tātau katoa tēnei te pae o Maumahara. E nga iwi, kei aku rangatira wāhine mā, tāne mā tēnā tātau katoa.
Greetings to all of you here at Pukeahu National War Memorial Park – our national place of remembrance – and to communities gathering across the country this Anzac morning.
I wish to begin by specifically acknowledging: Taranaki Whānui; Parliamentary Under-Secretary Jenny Marcroft, representing the Government of New Zealand; Their Excellencies, the Ambassador of the Republic of Türkiye and High Commissioner of Australia; Greg O’Connor, representing the Opposition; His Worship the Honourable Andrew Little, Mayor of Wellington; Air Marshal Tony Davies, Chief of New Zealand Defence Force; Air Marshal Leon Phillips, representing the Chief of the Australian Defence Force; Colonel James A. (Tony) Hill, National President, Royal New Zealand Returned and Services Association, and Kevin Arlidge, President of the Wellington Returned and Services’ Association. And to all veterans and their families – tēnā koutou katoa.
Anzac Day is a time when we reflect on the terrible social cost of war and renew our commitment to peace. Today carries a particular sense of renewal. After six years, the National War Memorial Carillon has reopened, and today, we once again hear its bells echo across this sacred site. Their sound is a reminder of why war memorials such as the Carillon were built almost a century ago. With so many of our war dead lying far from home, they were places where families and communities could grieve the catastrophic loss of life during the First World War. They were also places where New Zealand could anchor its remembrance as it confronted a changed future.
Standing here, we can reflect on the symbolism enshrined within the Carillon’s three largest bells – Hope (Tūmanako), Remembrance (Whakamaharatanga), and Peace (Rangimārie). These speak to the aspirations that shaped those earliest Anzac Day ceremonies – to honour those who served, to remember those we lost, and to commit ourselves to a more peaceful world.
This year marks 80 years since Anzac Day 1946 – the first peacetime commemoration following the Second World War. More than 140,000 New Zealanders served overseas during that global conflict, and almost 12,000 did not return home. The scale of this loss reshaped our communities for generations. Those who did return carried the deep weight of their experiences and faced profound challenges as they attempted to rebuild their lives.
One of those was Wellingtonian Jack Elworthy, who had spent more than four years as prisoner of war and described feeling “utterly isolated” upon his return home. He noted that:
When we first arrived in Stalag 8B, cold, dirty and lousy, with only what we wore, everyone in the barracks had given us something – a shirt, a jersey, a scarf, socks, razor blades – with no thought of payment or reward, and the same happened whenever a new batch of arrivals came in. That had worked well in Germany, and I saw no reasons why the same approach wouldn’t work in New Zealand if only people would try it. It made for a pleasant way of life, with everyone working towards the same goal. I tried to tell people this. They listened but did not really understand what I was talking about. I felt people had changed. It never occurred to me that I was the one who had changed.
Jack was one of many service personnel readjusting to peacetime. In March 1946, the hospital ship HMNZHS Maunganui arrived in Wellington carrying the last of the Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force’s casualties from Britain, Italy, and Egypt. That same month, 4,200 New Zealand troops arrived in Japan to serve as part of the British Commonwealth Occupation Force. More than 12,000 New Zealanders would go on to serve with Jayforce before its withdrawal in 1948. Their work helped lay the foundations for stability in a region scarred by conflict, and it remains an important chapter in our history.
As we gather this dawn, conflicts around the world continue to inflict immense suffering on civilians and families. The stories we hear – of displacement, loss, and deep uncertainty – remind us how urgently the values of peace and humanity are needed.
New Zealand has long been committed to peace, collective security, and global cooperation. These principles guide our engagement with the world and reflect our belief that nations are safest when they stand together in fairness and restraint. They also honour the legacy of the generations who served before us – those who understood the price of war and hoped for a world where collaboration and integrity would prevail.
Today, we acknowledge personnel from the New Zealand Defence Force, New Zealand Police, and humanitarian organisations serving in operations around the world to support peace and stability. Their professionalism, courage, and commitment to humanitarian principles represent the very best of our national character. We thank them, and we think too of their families, who also carry the weight of service.
More than a century on from Gallipoli, the legacy of Anzac continues to evolve. That legacy challenges us to reflect not only on the sacrifice of those who served, but also on the responsibilities we carry in our own time: to be a nation that remembers, and that strives for understanding, compassion and peace.
As the bells ring out this morning – Hope, Remembrance, Peace – may they remind us of the legacy we inherit and the future we shape together.
Kia maumahara tātou. Let us remember them.