Pasifika lead ANZAC remembrance as families honour World War One service

Pacific families in Auckland are being invited to mark ANZAC Day “with a difference” this year.

For the first time, the Auckland RSA and Museum are formally recognising the Pacific’s role in World War One.

This year’s theme, “Pasifika”, recognises the contribution of Pacific nations to Aotearoa’s war efforts, with over 1000 volunteers joining the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) during the First World War.

For many families, the commemoration is deeply personal.

Speaking with PMN Cook Islands, Keutekarakia Mataroa, the Consulate General of the Cook Islands and Dean of the Auckland Consular Corps, called on Pacific communities to support this Saturday’s service.

“This is recognising the participation or contribution of our Pacific nations in the war effort,” Mataroa says.

“For this main Anzac Day celebration, we are seeking the assistance of our Pacific communities coming together, wearing our colours, [to] be dynamic on the day and show how we have always participated and contributed to the efforts of New Zealand.”

A separate Cook Islands service will also be held in the afternoon following the main dawn events.

Around 500 Cook Islands men volunteered during World War One, serving in roles such as labourers and ammunition carriers in France, Egypt, and Palestine.

Mataroa recently attended a commemoration in Wellington marking the 110th anniversary of the New Zealand Engineering Tunnelling Company (NZETC) being deployed, noting that three Cook Islanders were among the 43 specialist workers.

The unit arrived in France in 1916 and was the first NZEF group on the Western Front.

Red poppies, a symbol of remembrance, will mark ANZAC Day across Aotearoa. Photo/Auckland Council

Mataroas said Pacific service extended across many nations. Soldiers from Niue, Tonga, Sāmoa, Tuvalu, Kiribati, Fiji, Tahiti, and Norfolk Island also served in key theatres, including Gallipoli, the Western Front, and the Middle East.

Many worked in specialist and support roles, including tunnelling and engineering units.

Auckland Councillor Alf Filipaina, representing Mayor Wayne Brown, will lay a wreath at this year’s ANZAC service.

“It's an honour to do that on behalf but also to be part of the theme and acknowledging those families. To them, thank you so much for the sacrifice that they've made,” he says.

“We also thank the Auckland RSA and the museum for acknowledging the theme Pasifika this year. We need to acknowledge the families who made the ultimate sacrifice.”

The service will also include recognition of families who have preserved the memory of those who served.

Mataroa is encouraging the Pacific people to attend the dawn service and show their heritage proudly.

He says families are encouraged to wear their national colours and bring medals of their ancestors.

“It will be the first time I'll be wearing my grandfather's medals on the day to acknowledge his part,” Mataroa says.

“I've been privileged to lay the wreath on behalf of the Cook Islands government and also the Auckland Council of Court every year since I've been here.

“As Alf has mentioned, thanking them for their service and enabling us today to live a peaceful life, [and] the freedom we enjoy today.”

Watch KeuteKarakia Mataroa and Alf Filipaina’s interview below.

ANZAC Day will also be marked across Auckland with tributes including the Vector Lights display on the Harbour Bridge, running from Thursday 16 April to Saturday 25 April with special dawn shows on ANZAC Day itself.

A commemorative display will also run every 15 minutes from 6pm until midnight.

There will also be special dawn showings from 5am to 7am on Anzac Day. TVNZ 1 and RNZ National will broadcast Anzac Day services.

Pacific leaders say this year’s Pasifika theme is a chance to ensure the region’s wartime contribution is better understood and remembered by future generations.

For more information on services in Auckland, click here. For the rest of the motu, check your council website.