Cannon blast marks Anzac Day as thousands gather in Nelson

Across cemeteries, parks and halls in Nelson-Tasman, thousands gathered on Anzac Day to remember those who served overseas.

At Marsden Valley Cemetery, a full-size Royal Artillery six-pounder cannon boomed across the valley to close the 10am Anzac service, startling the crowd before drawing laughter.

The single blast thudded through the chest, as much felt as heard, while dogs barked at the sudden force of the ceremonial firing.

It came immediately after the Last Post and Rouse, played by RNZAF band member Sergeant Mason Robinson, and a minute’s silence to remember the 375 veterans buried at the cemetery and the more than 30,000 New Zealanders who lost their lives in war.

Across the region on Saturday, thousands more gathered across Nelson-Tasman on Anzac Day to honour past and present Defence Force personnel.

The services marked 111 years since the Gallipoli landings, when the first of 16,000 Australian and New Zealand Army Corps soldiers came under fire at Anzac Cove.

The bronze cannon, known as the Frederick James, was fired again at 1pm at the Honest Lawyer pub in Stoke.

Built in the late 1980s by master craftsman Bryan Townsend, the cannon has been used at major national events and is now based in Nelson. It was the last remaining field gun in his possession, Townsend said.

The cannon was designed purely for ceremonial use and had long been part of Anzac commemorations.

Previously based at the Wellington Cenotaph, it was used at dawn services for many years and as the official gun at the National War Memorial centenary. It has also marked major sporting and civic events, and featured in performances of Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.

Townsend, who built the cannon with a group of sailor friends, said it was never intended as a weapon.

“We’re not into firearms. It was just for ceremony and a bit of fun,” he said.

Of the three field guns he once owned, it was the only one he had kept, but had built hundreds of cannons, including smaller replica naval guns sent to buyers in New Zealand and overseas.

Sergeant Mason Robinson shared an update about the cemetery nine years on from its upgrade. He said it was the RSA objective to make it “one of New Zealand’s absolutely top cemeteries” that families of those who had served could enjoy.

“There are a lot of veterans beyond this services hill that I’d just like to pay our tribute to as well,” he said. “Back in the old days, wives couldn’t be buried

Those rules have since changed, he said.

Kiri Raharuhi paid tribute to her father, Warrant Officer Roy William Raharuhi, who served with the Royal New Zealand Air Force during World War II.

He died at just 53 and was buried at the cemetery, but not in the returned services section, instead laid to rest where he could be alongside his wife.

Raharuhi said while it was right to honour those in the returned section, it was also important to remember servicemen and women buried outside it.

“Dad’s grave may not be in the returned section, but his service is beyond question.”

Earlier, several thousand people attended the dawn service at Anzac Park in Nelson following a parade of returned servicemen and women from Millers Acre.

Lieutenant Commander Tim Hoffman led the service, with the New Zealand and Australian national anthems sung by harmony group Tasmonics.

Portraits of local veterans displayed on a large screen alongside a musical tribute of wartime classics.

Nelson College for Girls co-head girl Chali Routhan told the crowd the realities faced by those who went to war were difficult for young people today to comprehend.

“At 17, my greatest worry might be missing an assignment,” she said. “But for them, it was whether they would make it home, and for many, they never did.”

She said the impact of war extended beyond the battlefield, affecting families and communities, with women both serving overseas and taking on essential roles at home.

Nelson College head boy Max Stanton spoke about his great-grandfather, Captain Frederick Robertson, who served at Gallipoli and later campaigns, earning a Distinguished Conduct Medal for bravery.

Stanton said his story reflected the courage of Anzac soldiers and the importance of remembering their sacrifice.

Nelson mayor Nick Smith said the loss of more than 900 Nelsonians in the world wars meant almost every local family had been affected.

“Our greatest risk is that as time passes, we forget,” he said.

Later, at Wakapuaka Cemetery, a smaller crowd of around 50 gathered to honour those buried there, with the Talisman Sea Cadets laying poppies over each grave.

Bombardier Cyril Sanderson Spear, a former journalist for the Nelson Evening Mail, was among those remembered.

Ensign Ashleigh Radford told the crowd Spear enlisted in 1915 in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force and kept diaries until his discharge in 1919 before continuing his journalism career at the newspaper.

Those records were now held by Nelson Provincial Museum, she said.

By Nina Hindmarsh, Nelson Mail