Sacrifice of 25,000 people remembered at ceremony to mark 175th anniversary of New Zealand Army

March 24, 2021

Major General John Boswell said the army had endured significant losses through its history.

The sacrifice of 25,000 men and women were remembered at a small dawn ceremony this morning to mark the 175th anniversary of the founding of the New Zealand Army.

Last year marked the milestone of the founding of what we know today as the New Zealand Army but commemorations were put on hold due to the pandemic. A eremony was held at Wellington’s Pukeahu National War Memorial Park today.

Army chief Major General John Boswell said the process of remembering the fallen would continue with the beating of the retreat ceremony at about 5pm.

“It’s a historic ceremony dates back to the 1700s, it marks the end of the day’s fighting, it’s when the soldiers would parade and the roll would be called, they would remember the dead before they retired for the night,” he said.

“It [the losses] are a significant number, when you think of the size of our population over the years, it’s reflected in the memorials around our communities.

“It’s appropriate that we take the time to pause, to reflect, to remember those who have gone before us.”

Boswell said there were would be no celebrating the early history of the army, which was initially a militia often involved in dispossessing Māori of their land.

“It was a complex, sad, divisive time in our history, in 1845 when the Legislative Council passed the Militia Act that formed the rudimentary militia of the time that we trace our origins of the army back to,” he said.

“We don’t celebrate that, we remember that but what we do celebrate is our journey to the modern professional bi-cultural army of today.”

“A culture of Ngāti Tumatauenga that resides within our organisation, a culture that looks to blend the very best of British military traditions with the Māori warrior culture and provides that unique identity which is the New Zealand soldier.”

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