Hawke’s Bay group travels to Gallipoli to commemorate Anzac Day
Grandchildren and great-grandchildren of World War I veterans have banded together to take a trip of a lifetime to Gallipoli in Turkey to commemorate Anzac Day.
The Hawke’s Bay group of 20 departed from Napier Airport on April 11 on a journey to commemorate the 1915 landing and honour Kiwi soldiers.
They would spend time taking in the sights of Gallipoli before attending the well-known dawn service on the Gallipoli Peninsula.
Headed along for the trip is Monika Teepa who said she felt both nervous and excited when Hawke’s Bay Today spoke to her the day before the flight.
“I already know I will be crying. I will feel overwhelmed and I think it will be a reflective thing for me.”
Teepa had whānau in the Māori Battalion who were lucky enough to return to Hawke’s Bay.
“We didn’t have any fallen soldiers”.
She decided to go with a group of people aged from the late 30s up to early 80s, “for the experience”.
“We are tagging along with a group of blessed people and we thought why not, it’s going to be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
Teepa who had always been interested in history felt it was important to continue to recognise the sacrifice of the Anzacs.
“I have always been fascinated with our whānau history, what they did and how they did it back in the day.”
After Anzac Day Teepa had planned to do more travelling with a friend and head to Egypt to visit the pyramids.
The group will also participate in tours and Teepa planned to take a piece of Hawke’s Bay and New Zealand with her as a token of her appreciation.
She was taking a New Zealand flag, and had a selection of tea towels, magnets, and keyrings packed in her bags as gifts.
“I feel it’s nice to hand over something extra.”
Michaela Gower joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2023 and is based out of the Hastings and Central Hawke’s Bay newsrooms. She covers Dannevirke and Hawke’s Bay news and has a love for sharing stories about farming and rural communities.