TE AWAMUTU NEWS | 1
THURSDAY DECEMBER 11, 2025
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teawamutunews.nz
DECEMBER 11, 2025
Memorial – 70 years on that official opening on Sunday, December 4, 1955. Waipā District councillor Shane Walsh read mayor Frank Jacobs’ speech, maintenance committee member Angus Smith read as Waipā County Council’s Frank Onion and Peter Fletcher of the maintenance committee read as
Timetable: The sundial viewing area now has polar cardinal directions according to original plans. Photo: Jesse Wood
Waipā MP and Minister of Works Stan Goosman. Norris Hall, whose grandfather George Hall was a council representative for Rangiaowhia and with the memorial committee who built the park, read as Gerald Gower the RSA executive and war memorial committee member.
Finally, maintenance committee member Mike Williams read the speech Prime Minister Sidney Holland gave that day to declare the park open. One of the many memorial features 70 years ago was a sundial that has been missing from its stand for three decades.
A new sundial was unveiled on Sunday by maintenance committee member Fletcher representing the next of kin. • Marc Dawson is a member of the independent park maintenance committee. A longer version of this story will appear on teawamutunew.nz
Santa on parade
By Marc Dawson
Beautiful weather supported the 70th commemoration ceremony of the Te Awamutu and District War Memorial Park on Sunday. The park was established to honour the sacrifice of 152 men from the Army, Navy and Air Force from 28 districts and a list of nondistricts specified names listed in the sunken cross. Using reporter Arthur Warburton’s archived accounts of the day, Marc Dawson of the War Memorial Maintenance Committee set the scene from 70 years ago. Ex-servicemen, led by the Municipal Band, marched from Big Tree Corner with the Te Awamutu District Highland Pipe following. This led up to the arrival of the official party before a special enclosure for the next of kin seated near the sunken cross, where dignitaries and the bands were also present with thousands waiting outside the stone wall. An appreciative crowd then listened to a reciting of original sentiment from speeches given at
Santa returned for his regular early December gig in Te Awamutu on Saturday morning – and he even remembered The News photographer - who snapped this pre-parade shot - from last year’s parade. It was part of a busy run for the big man, who was in Ōtorohanga the night before – and had a visit to Cambridge to look forward to. A hhuge crowd turned out to see the parade which included a number of Grinches – and Santa’s elves. See more pictures from the parade on pages 6 and 7 today.
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