Anzac Day was celebrated on the 25th April 2025. This day remembers the New Zealand and Australian soldiers who fought at Gallipoli 110 years ago. All over Aotearoa, dawn services were held and honoured those who fought for our country.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon gave heartfelt speeches at Gallipoli and Chunuk Bair in Turkey. Speaking at the Dawn Service and later at Chunuk Bair, Luxon said Gallipoli is a name “etched into New Zealand’s national identity.” He praised the bravery of both the Anzacs and the Ottoman Turks and urged everyone to learn from the past to prevent future wars.
At Gallipoli, Luxon spoke of young men who had left home expecting adventure but instead faced the horror of battle. About 16,000 New Zealanders served at Gallipoli during World War I, a huge number for a country of only one million people at the time. The Prime Minister said their sacrifice scarred generations but also built lasting bonds between New Zealand, Australia, and Turkey.
At Chunuk Bair, one of the most famous battlegrounds for New Zealand, Luxon remembered Lieutenant Colonel William Malone and the Wellington Battalion, who captured the summit but suffered terrible losses. Out of 760 men, only 70 remained unhurt after just a few days of fierce fighting.
Meanwhile, back in New Zealand, the town of Reporoa near Rotorua unveiled a new photo wall at their Anzac Day service. The wall honours 230 returned servicemen who settled in the area after World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. Among those remembered is Private Henare Reweti, a 29-year-old from the 28th Māori Battalion who died in Crete in 1941.
As the sun rose over Gallipoli, Chunuk Bair, and across New Zealand, people stood together to say: “We will remember them.”
