Cambridge High School kapa haka group Te Piringa Māori o Tauiwi in rehearsals for Monday’s Anzac Concert in the town hall. Photo: supplied.
Anzac Day preparations have been underway for months, both for the commemorative services on Tuesday and for a preceding Anzac Concert being held in the Cambridge Town Hall on Monday evening.
The Anzac Concert, entitled ‘Ake Ake Kia Kaha E! An ANZAC Salute’ will present a musical programme to reflect all three sections of the New Zealand armed forces – the navy, air force and army. In addition, it will pay tribute to the Māori contingent who served at Gallipoli, which predates the 28th Māori Battalion who will also be commemorated. It is for that reason the programme title reflects the marching song of the 28th Māori Battalion – Ake! Ake! Kia Kaha E!
The concert will break new ground in that it will feature the Cambridge High School kapa haka group, Te Piringa Māori o Tauiwi (the coming together of Maori and non Maori), performing for the first time alongside the Cambridge Brass Band and the Hamilton Auxiliary Brass Band.
That event will start in the town hall at 7pm on Monday, and will be free to patrons, with the option of a gold coin donation for the Cambridge RSA. It is expected to attract an audience of all ages.
On Tuesday, Anzac Day commemorations will take place as usual in Cambridge, with the 6am Dawn Service taking place at the cenotaph outside the Cambridge Town Hall, and the 9am service taking place inside the hall itself. The later service will be followed by wreath laying at the cenotaph.
Cambridge RSA president and district support advisor Colonel Tony Hill said Anzac Day 2023 would also focus on the recovery following recent weather-related disasters experienced in New Zealand.
“The theme is that veterans are everywhere, that their service came with a cost and that they can be of any age,” he said. “This is against the background of the recent disasters, and we have set up an RSA emergency fund to assist veterans in need.”
See: Poppy presentation
Kimiora Wynyard- Kapa Haka, Charles Winter – CBB, Te Kore Poka – Kapa haka
Making the presentation this week to RSA president Tony Hill, second right, and Brigadier Jon Broadley, right, were from left, NZMCA Waikato chair Michael Cullen and members Chrissy Cullen, Nena Hergatt and Carole Talbot.
