Has my first ANZAC day in NZ today.
Dawn parade, so had to be up early, and it all kicked off at 0630. For that kind of time in the morning, the turnout was immense, it seemed like most of the town were there. Even more amazing when you realise that ANZAC day is a public holiday and so the huge majority of the people attending were having a day off and had foregone a free lie in to get up, get ready, and attend (lots of families complete with little kids too)
Loads of uniforms in attendance too, again, free day off but the expectation is that those in Uniform will attend one service or another and Parade, and it looks like most do.
Very good service, timings were impeccable (Last Post was finished just as the clock tower struck 7), and the turn out would put a lot of big towns in the UK on Remembrance Sunday to shame. Binyon's 'For The Fallen' was read out with a rather odd cadence (but that may just have been the bloke reading it at the service I attended) and the Huey Flypast was not at Dawn, but that was because there are no longer enough Hueys to do a Dawn flypast at every service that requests one so some have to lump a flypast in the middle.
All in all, a very good service. I did look a bit of a tw@t in a suit though, casual Kiwi dress rules extend everywhere and Jandals and shorts seemed to be the dress of the day
Dawn parade, so had to be up early, and it all kicked off at 0630. For that kind of time in the morning, the turnout was immense, it seemed like most of the town were there. Even more amazing when you realise that ANZAC day is a public holiday and so the huge majority of the people attending were having a day off and had foregone a free lie in to get up, get ready, and attend (lots of families complete with little kids too)
Loads of uniforms in attendance too, again, free day off but the expectation is that those in Uniform will attend one service or another and Parade, and it looks like most do.
Very good service, timings were impeccable (Last Post was finished just as the clock tower struck 7), and the turn out would put a lot of big towns in the UK on Remembrance Sunday to shame. Binyon's 'For The Fallen' was read out with a rather odd cadence (but that may just have been the bloke reading it at the service I attended) and the Huey Flypast was not at Dawn, but that was because there are no longer enough Hueys to do a Dawn flypast at every service that requests one so some have to lump a flypast in the middle.
All in all, a very good service. I did look a bit of a tw@t in a suit though, casual Kiwi dress rules extend everywhere and Jandals and shorts seemed to be the dress of the day
