The Mayor of Auckland, Len Brown, and the Director of the Auckland War Memorial, Roy Clare, announce “the themes forming the basis of Auckland’s contribution to the WW100 commemoration events and programmes”.
The Mayor of Auckland said Auckland Council will “champion remembrance activities in the region’s local communities”.
Auckland Council is already developing “a trail of Auckland’s heritage sites” and has launched a series of restorations of cenatophs, memorials and war graves. Additionally, a “steering-group” to direct Auckland Council’s Centenary initiatives has also been established.
Auckland War Memorial Museum will mark the Centenary of the conflict with the “overarching theme ‘He toa taumata rau’ or ‘Courage has many resting places’ and spans online projects, annual programmes, commemorative events and the upgrade of the online Cenotaph Database”.
The museum will also have yearly themes during the Centenary. For instance, in 2014 ‘Duty & Adventure’ will be a central theme of the museum’s commemorations, whereas in 2015 the theme will be ‘Death of Innocence’, to mark the 100 year anniversary of the Gallipoli landings.
The Mayor of Auckland aims to make the commemorations of the Centenary inclusive and engaging.
Mr.Brown asserted that the First World War “touched the lives of so many people – those at home as well as those in combat”.
As a result, Mr. Brown, who defined Auckland as a “multicultural city”, will also be acknowledging “the many Aucklanders from the Pacific Islands, Europe and across the globe who served or have loved ones connected to the First World War”.
Images courtesy of Wikipedia
Date of publication: 25/04/2013
Source: Auckland War Memorial Museum website
Posted by: Daniel Barry, Centenary News