The Satcher's New Zealand Adventure: ANZAC Day

Saturday morning, the 25th of April, we went to town to join the sunrise march to the war memorial for ANZAC day. The service and wreath laying got me thinking about the parents of the guys that died. It was easy to picture them on the streets of Hawera back in the 1920s, remembering the sons they had buried a decade ago.

ANZAC service at the Hawera War Memorial

Once the sun came up, the service ended and we hopped in the car and drove to Wellington to see the sights. Our first visit to Welly was back in November for Laura to teach ALSO and she didn't see much of the city. We stopped by the US Marine Memorial near Paekakariki. The Marines used the area off and on during WWII as a staging and training point for the Pacific war.

US Marine Memorial

More of the memorial

Once we pulled into Welly, we drove to the war memorial downtown. The services there had just finished and we walked through the memorial for some photos. Behind the memorial is the old Dominion Museum. Peter Jackson and Weta have taken over the building and installed a very nice ANZAC exhibit featuring period uniforms, weapons and photos. Peter Jackson's museum efforts are something to see. He punctuates focal points in the display with large dioramas to illustrate the action. The display will be in place for four years.

Wellington War Memorial

Inside the memorial

Waiting for the ANZAC display in old Dominion

Parts of the display are like a movie set

Guns,

miniatures,

and full-size dioramas

Weta colorized old war photos

Courtyard of the memorial

One of our great discoveries in Wellington has been the Roxy Cinema in Miramar. The theatre is the closest to Weta Workshop and Peter Jackson put $10 million into a complete remodel. It is simply fantastic. This is no mega-movie-plex. There are only two screens but the interior is straight out of the 20s with a cafe downstairs and a bar upstairs. The screening rooms are large with comfortable leather seating and a curtain covers the screen. If you get to New Zealand, don't miss the Roxy.