When the Manurewa RSA revealed it lacked the manpower needed to organise this year’s Armistice Day commemorations, the community rallied.
Manurewa Local Board stepped in and Central School agreed to host the event inside its front gate, with the town’s cenotaph as a fitting backdrop.
The event saw pupils from the school joined by children from a nearby daycare centre, veterans, family and community members.
Councillor Angela Dalton, her daughter and board deputy chair Melissa Atama, joined their “Uncle Bert” to release a peace dove for family members the Whitburn boys – two brothers who died in World War One.
Board chair Joseph Allan said it was important the tradition of Remembrance Day continued unbroken and the board was pleased to be able to play a part in ensuring the occasion was marked.
He said the school’s willingness to host the event allayed health and safety concerns because it would have been impossible to arrange the road closures that would have been needed if it had been hosted outside around the Cenotaph.
Armistice Day was marked on Sunday at Papakura, where heavy rain saw the event moved to the RSA, but Papakura Local Board chair Brent Catchpole said good numbers still attended what was a moving occasion.
Further south, Franklin Local Board members Sharlene Druyven and Matthew Murphy attended a ceremony in Waiuku, where poppies bloomed in front of the town’s Cenotaph.
