First observed in 1916, Anzac Day - 25 April - commemorates those killed in war as well as honouring returned servicemen and women. The ceremonies that are held at war memorials across the country, or in places overseas where New Zealanders gather, are rich in tradition and ritual.
The Gallipoli campaign of 1915 remains a landmark event in New Zealand history. Although it was a grievous failure for the Allies and did not have a significant impact on the war's outcome, the campaign fostered an emerging New Zealand identity, and its effects continue to resonate.
The Anzac Day ceremony of 25 April is a form ofmilitary funeral and follows a particular pattern. The day's ceremonies have two major parts: one at dawn and another, more public event, later in the morning.
Things had reached a stalemate on the Western Front by the end of 1914. An assault on the Dardanelles by the British and its allies would, it was believed, knock the Ottoman Empire out of the war.
The word Anzac is part of the culture of New Zealanders and Australians. The word conjures up a shared heritage of two nations, but it also has a specific meaning, dating from December 1914.
The ANZACs began digging in to their positions on the Gallipoli Peninsula on the evening of 25 April 1915. Short battles that were often costly, for both sides became the pattern of events for several weeks.
The Wellington Battalion, which William George Malone commanded, landed on the Gallipoli Peninsula on 25 April. Malone immediately began to impose order. By example, determination and drive he transformed weak defences held by frightened men into ordered garrisons that dominated their Turkish opponents.
Soldiers, probably of the Wellington Mounted Rifles, 1 New Zealand Expeditionary Force, occupy a trench on Table Top, Gallipoli during the night of 6 August 1915 in preparation for the attack on Chunuk Bair.
Lieutenant Colonel William George Malone stands outside his bivouac on Walker's Ridge. Malone, a Stratford farmer and lawyer, was the commander of the Wellington Infantry Regiment at Gallipoli. He was killed during the fight for Chunuk Bair on 8 August 1915.
The diary that Bollinger kept from the time he left Wellington on 16 October 1914 documents superbly the experiences and shifting attitudes of a New Zealand soldier during the Gallipoli campaign.
Charles Begg was New Zealand's most decorated member of the Medical Corps during the First World War. He played a major role in the treatment of troops during the 1915 Gallipoli campaign.
Henare Wepiha Te Wainohu was a chaplain during the Gallipoli campaign. At first there was official opposition to sending Maori troops into battle, and after months of training in Egypt and garrison duty at Malta, the Maori troops were becoming restless.
Evelyn Brooke was appointed matron on the hospital ship Maheno, which embarked for Turkey in July 1915. As a hospital ship matron, she was responsible for all nursing arrangements. Much of the work was carried out by male orderlies, whom she trained but were under the command of a non-commissioned officer (the wardmaster).
On 17 April 1915 Charles Begg, a qualified doctor and Field Ambulance superviser, embarked for Gallipoli from Alexandria. When the Anzacs landed on 25 April, casualties were unexpectedly heavy. Begg sent his bearer sections ashore while his surgical teams provided treatment on various ships.
This is the grave of Alfred Dickenson on Gallipoli. He was a member of the Wellington Mounted Rifles, 1 New Zealand Expeditionary Force, and he died on 30 May 1915
In July 1915, during the Gallipoli campaign, Ettie Rout set up the New Zealand Volunteer Sisterhood and invited women between the ages of 30 and 50 to go to Egypt to care for New Zealand soldiers.
This is the memorial arch to Lieutenant Colonel William George Malone at Stratford, Taranaki. Malone, a Stratford farmer and lawyer, was the commander of the Wellington Infantry Regiment at Gallipoli. He died on the slopes of Chunuk Bair on 8 August 1915.
