“What substitute I wondered is a name on a gate and a
sprig of rosemary for a father or a
brother.”
Opening ceremony
Tauranga Domain Memorial Gates, 11 December
1921.
This poignant reflection was made by
Tauranga resident Phoebe Norris as she attended the official
opening of the Memorial Gates at Tauranga Domain on 11
December 1921, honouring the lives of young Tauranga men who
were killed in the First World War.
One hundred years
later, Tauranga City Council is commemorating these men
again with a new interpretation panel at the Memorial Gates
and a collection of posters in the CBD – ‘More than a
name’ – which puts faces to the names of some of the men
who lost their lives serving their country.
There is
also a ‘Together we remember’ display in the Ngā Wāhi
Rangahau research room at Tauranga Library, which provides
more details about the memorial and showcases items
connected to the gates and the men.
Commission Chair
Anne Tolley says the Memorial Gates recognise that not only
was the loss of these men’s lives meaningful to their
loved ones, but also to their community, and they continue
to be significant to this day.
“The contributions
these men made on behalf of our nation are still important
more than 100 years on, and the new interpretation panel
will ensure we continue to recognise them long into the
future.”
The Memorial Gates feature the names of 90
men, and there are another 22 fallen heroes who have since
been identified as being either born in Tauranga or had left
from the town to go to war.
The stories of 26 local
soldiers are currently shared on posters throughout the CBD,
including those of Reginald Watkins and Samuel
Tanner.
Reginald’s poster is in Red Square, the very
spot from where he left by horse and cart to travel to
Trentham to train to go to war.
The story of Samuel
Tanner, a merchant marine whose ship was torpedoed and sunk,
is located near the water on The Strand.
For Fiona
Kean, Curator of the Tauranga Heritage Collection, the
project has been a labour of love.
“I started
researching the First World War and its impact on Tauranga
in 2008, so it’s quite emotional for me to say goodbye to
these boys.”
Reginald’s family have entrusted an
archive of his life to the Tauranga Heritage Collection and
some of his belongings make up part of the ‘Together we
remember’ display at Tauranga Library.
“We are the
kaitiaki for them and the community. It’s a very special
project to have been a part of,” Fiona says.
The
Memorial Gates were last restored in 2014 and the display
also includes a piece of one of the original pillars that
could not be saved.
The Tauranga Historical Society,
which has been working with Fiona to identify the names not
listed on the Memorial Gates, has welcomed the new
interpretation panel.
“The addition of the new
interpretation panel serves to honour, in this small way,
those who had no idea that their ‘big adventure’ would
mean the end of their lives and years of heartache for their
families,” says historian and Tauranga Historical Society
Committee member Debbie McCauley.
The ‘More than a
name’ posters will remain in the CBD until early January
and the ‘Together we remember’ display in the Tauranga
Library until
February.
