St John youth member Evaleigh Anderson checks her salute is right as she looks up to Emma Barrett while Air Force cadet member Oliver McKeon stands alongside.
A gathering of more than 600 people outside Cambridge’s Town Hall on Saturday morning was a reminder that Anzac Day continues to matter deeply to the Cambridge community.
Young and old stood shoulder to shoulder, prams beside RSA medals, school blazers beside walking sticks, as Cambridge marked its civic service with dignity and resolve.
Best turned out: Cambridge police got a favourable mention from Chaplain Ants Hawes, from left Daniel Glew, Deb Hann, Hawes and Ali Methven. Photo: Mary Anne Gill
The service was led by Chaplain Ants Hawes, whose calm presence carried the morning from reflection through remembrance. Music shaped the mood: the Cambridge Brass Band and the Cambridge and Districts Pipe Band lifting the crowd into silence and sound, sorrow and pride. It was a ceremony steeped in tradition, yet unmistakably alive.
Waikato Regional councillor Liz Stolwyk spoke on behalf of the Governor‑General Dame Cindy Kiro and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, reminding those gathered that Anzac Day is not only about looking back, but about renewing commitments for the present and future. She spoke of courage, integrity and service, values carried forward by defence, police and frontline workers today, and echoed in the Government’s recent broadening of how service is recognised.
RSA president Sergeant Graham Johns brought the focus closer to home, speaking of “veterans looking after veterans” and of the quiet responsibility communities hold for those who serve. He shared the powerful story of Sergeant Adam Cunningham, a decorated First World War soldier whose grave lay unmarked for decades, a reminder that remembrance can sometimes arrive late, but never too late. “Today we remember one man, but in doing so, we honour many.”
Chaplain Ants Hawes reads the resolve at the civic ceremony with, from left Chris Minee, Charlotte FitzPatrick, Jo Davies-Colley, Mike Pettit, Graham Johns, Liz Stolwyk, Dave Marinkovich and Blake Williams. Photo: Mary Anne Gill
Sunglasses were required accessories during Anzac Day 2026, even on this dog. Photo: Mary Anne Gill
Laying a wreath on behalf of the citizens of Australia are from left Michael Yelish, Wilma Macdonald, Ethan Harvey and Erin Bouwer. Photo: Mary Anne Gill Anzac Day 2026
It takes a lot of huff and puff to play the bagpipes, just ask Robyn Irvine. Photo: Mary Anne Gill Anzac Day 2026
Waipā mayor Mike Pettit acknowledged the strength of local turnout – “each year this community shows its heart” – and placed Cambridge within a wider, unsettled world. His words recognised the fragile nature of peace, urging unity and kindness in times where global conflict feels uncomfortably close. Anzac Day, he said, calls not for despair, but for purpose.
Guest speaker Lance Corporal Dave Marinkovich spoke candidly of his service in East Timor and Iraq, of rocket fire and roadside bombs, and of the unseen wounds that follow many home.
He challenged the idea that service is something to be ranked or compared.
“Service isn’t a competition,” he said. “If you put your hand up, that’s what matters.”
His call to the crowd was simple: we must do better by the living.
It was the voices of the young, however, that again proved those who lost their lives more than a century ago will never be forgotten.
Cambridge High School student Blake Williams reflected on the age of the Gallipoli soldiers – “not much older than myself” – and the courage it must have taken to leave home for uncertainty.
“We honour them not for the war they fought, but for the values they showed in it.”
Fellow student Anna Crouchman said a legacy does not have to be loud to be heard.
She spoke of life’s fragility, of courage as moving forward despite fear, and of honour carried quietly from one generation to the next.
“They fought for our today. So let us fight for someone else’s tomorrow.”
Cambridge Volunteer Fire Brigade members Glenn Philip and Richie Gerrand accompanied by an Air Force cadet, lay a wreath. Photo: Mary Anne Gill Anzac Day 2026
Standing tall is soldier Ngawhika Moana of Huntly appearing in his first Anzac Day parade. Photo: Mary Anne Gill Anzac Day 2026
Lieutenant Commander Greg Liddy and retired Indian Navy officer Allan Rodrigues lay a wreath on behalf of the 14 Sikh and five Gorkha who fought at Gallipoli. Photo: Mary Anne Gill Anzac Day 2026
The Resolve was read aloud:
“Peace is more than the absence of war. There can be no peace where there is no justice.”
The crowd responded, committing themselves “to honour the memory of the fallen by working for justice and peace among all people and respecting the dignity of every person.”
The Last Post sounded, followed by a minute’s silence then the Rouse. Wreaths were laid by community and service groups.
Among those present was 105‑year‑old Les Winslade, and Wilma Macdonald, 86, who laid a wreath on behalf of Australians, having served with the Australian Women’s Royal Air Corps before making Cambridge home.
Chaplain Hawes presented the special mention for best‑turned‑out group to the Cambridge Police, a small acknowledgement that drew warm applause.
As people drifted away beneath a clear sky, the sense remained that this was not remembrance sealed away for a morning.
It was remembrance carried forward – in music, in story, and in the steady conviction that legacy lives on when communities choose, again and again, to stand together.
See: Anzac Day around the region
Soprano Elaine Wogan provided the musical reflection of Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep. Photo: Mary Anne Gill Anzac Day 2026
Cambridge High School’s Blake Williams, left and Anna Crouchman delivered the students’ address. Photo: Mary Anne Gill Anzac Day 2026
Les Winslade, now 105, with daughter Alison Hucke. Photo: Mary Anne Gill Anzac Day 2026
The pupils at Karāpiro School made their own wreath to display at the Cenotaph. Photo: Mary Anne Gill Anzac Day 2026
St John youth member Evaleigh Anderson checks her salute is right as she looks up to Emma Barrett. Anzac Day 2026. Photo: Mary Anne Gill
