ANZAC Day in New Zealand

ANZAC Day is very important public holiday in New Zealand. It is commemorated on the 25th April each year. ANZAC is an acronym for Australian and New Zealand Army Corp. This date is important because it is on this day that New Zealand and Australian soldiers landed on the Gallipoli Peninsula in 1915. 2721 New Zealand soldiers died during the Gallipoli campaign.

The ANZAC Day ceremony, or dawn service, has a long tradition. It starts with returned servicemen and women marching to the local war memorial. Once at the war memorial a short service of prayers, hymns and a dedication is carried out. The service is usually concluded with a reading from the fourth verse of Laurence Binyon's For the Fallen : “They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old; a ge shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning. We will remember them.”

The Last Post is then played followed by a minute of silence. This is an important day for New Zealanders to honour, respect and reflect on the sacrifice which the ANZACs made for our small country.