Field of crosses to commemorate World War 1

Council is constructing a Field of Remembrance to commemorate Kāpiti soldiers who died in battles during World War 1 (WW1).

One hundred white crosses, made by Ōtaki Menzshed, will be installed on the grass area behind the Paraparaumu Bridge Club on Brett Ambler Way opposite the Aquatic Centre.

The ground is currently being prepared for the crosses and an information board with details about each soldier will be put up alongside.

The project is expected to be finished in July. It will stay up until Armistice Day, 11 November 2018 culminating in a national Field of Remembrance of 18,200 white crosses for each New Zealander who died in WW1 - the finale to New Zealand’s centenary commemorations.

“It will be a fitting commemoration to our brave soldiers who perished during this war and ensure they are not forgotten,” Mayor Ross Church says. “I hope when people walk by the field once it’s finished, they will stop to have a look and give a thought to these young men.”

Other events and installations are planned for later this year and every year up to 2018.

In April, Council’s district libraries put on a range of activities to commemorate the WW1 centenary and Anzac Day, including the launch of ‘War & Peace’ (a book of poems written by Kāpiti residents), an exhibition of 2721 hand-made poppies (representing each New Zealand soldier who died at Gallipoli), as well as story-telling and drawing sessions on an Anzac Day theme for children.

These events align with one of Council’s key Long Term Plan objectives to encourage a vibrant culture in the district.

Councils all over New Zealand are helping to commemorate the centenary in a variety of ways, such as:

• mounting exhibitions at museums and libraries
• upgrading existing war memorials
• installing memorial gardens
• collecting oral histories
• organising commemorative marches or walks.