Gisborne RSA president Don Hay, speaking at the Cenotaph, thanked returned servicemen and women, and the public, for their strong turnout at both the civic and the dawn services. “Everything was fantastic. I cannot fault anything,” he said later. The civic service went off with a bang with a 6-pounder anti-tank gun firing three blank rounds.

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The six-pounder, provided courtesy of the Marines at Mahia Club, added a new ambience for the crowd who were forewarned to prepare for loud noises. “These guys, Marines at Mahia, “certainly woke up the neighbourhood,’’ said Mr Hay. The New Zealand Defence Force decided this year to no longer provide firing parties for Anzac Day. Marines at Mahia was holding meetings in Gisborne, where half of their members lived, every second month to plan commemorations for the 75th Anniversary at Labour Weekend of the 2 US Marine Division beach landing exercises at Mahia in 1943, said president Ross Hedley. The club would also take part in Wairoa’s Armistice Day commemorations. Mr Hay said a major commemorative event would be held in Gisborne in November to mark the centennial of Armistice Day. “It’s going to be big.”

Filmed and Edited by
Ben Cowper

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