Speech to dawn service at Anzac Cove
Published in New Zealand Herald
At dawn, at ANZAC Cove, on 25 April, history speaks to us.
We sit, in awe, wondering how we would have felt as young troops, coming ashore on landing craft, not knowing what the new day would bring.
We look at this challenging terrain, with its steep hillsides, and marvel at the courage it took to move across it under fire, with fellow soldiers falling victim all around.
Later, as we move to the hill top, to Lone Pine, and then along the ridge to Chunuk Bair, we come to understand so much more about the carnage of this seven month campaign which ultimately ended in failure for the allied forces.