Anzac Day

7:11 The Niue New Zealand link in the World Wars

Veterans Minister Chris Penk is in Niue to attend Anzac services on the island.

Its population is only 4000 but during World War One 150 of its men volunteered to join the New Zealand Expeditionary Force and at least 15 of them were killed. 

Minister Penk talks to Stacey Morrison.

7:15 Rolleston College students in Gallipoli

Every year, hundreds of Kiwis make the long journey to the Peninsula to commemorate Anzac Day.

Among them this year, are 15 students from Rolleston College in Christchurch.

It's the first time the high school has organised such a trip, and it comes after 18 months of planning and fundraising activities such as quizzes, bingo nights, car washes and firewood raffles.

Year 13 student Jaiya Barnes joins Stacey Morrison from Çanakkale in Turkey.

7:22 Carrying on the Peart name

Each year an Anzac Commemoration Service is held at the Rome War Cemetery which contains the graves of 426 Commonwealth servicemen. 

New Zealand soldiers were part of the Allied force which liberated Rome in June 1944 and the cemetery was established soon afterwards. New Zealand and Australia host the service on alternate years and 2025 it's our turn. 

Wing Commander Heather Peart's grandfather served in World War I in the trenches in France and survived being gasses and shelled. 

Her father's three brothers also served in the Airforce during World War II, with one uncle going on to serve in the RAF. He flew spitfires in North Africa, Burma and India and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. 

Heather Peart speaks to Stacey Morrison.

7:30 Finance Minister Nicola Willis

Among those up before sunrise at Pukeahu National War Memorial Park in Wellington, was Finance Minister Nicola Willis, who delivered the Anzac address a short time ago.

She talks to Stacey Morrison.

7:38 Mahia's Dawn Service

RNZ reporter Alexa Cook has been at the Kaiuku Marae Dawn Service and tells Stacey what's been happening.

7:43 A hundred years of the King's College Memorial Chapel

King's College in Auckland is today marking 100 years since the consecration of its Memorial Chapel. 

On Anzac Day in 1925 the Archbishop of Auckland, Alfred Walter Averill, consecrated the chapel with the Governor-General of the day, Sir Charles Fergusson, also in attendance. 

Its memorial roll of honour lists the names of more than 200 old boys and staff who died during the two World Wars. 

Stacey Morrison visited the chapel and spoke with King's Headmaster Simon Lamb and the school's senior chaplain, Reverend Gareth Walters. 

8:06 Anzac Tiger operation seizes $23m worth of illegal substances

A New Zealand-led military task force has recently wrapped up a joint operation with Australia and seized more than 23 million dollars' worth of illicit drugs in the Middle East.

Called Anzac Tiger, staff from both countries identified contacts of interest and boarded ships where crew were exhibiting suspicious activity.

Altogether, the task force seized more than 2500 kgs of narcotics.

The mission of the military group is to stop weapons, drugs and other illicit substances being moved around in the Indian Ocean, the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman.

Commodore Rodger Ward is the commander of the Combined Task Force 150 and talks to Stacey Morrison.

8:15 The changing security landscape

The horrors of the First World War prompted the saying "Never again" - the hope that humanity would never again unleash such carnage. 

Unfortunately, history did repeat itself just a generation later with World War Two and conflict continues to plague the world today. The International Institute for Strategic Studies says global defence spending rose to USD 2.46 trillion in 2024, and New Zealand has joined a host of nations moving to boost their defence budgets. 

Our government has committed to nine billion dollars in new spending over the next four years. 

Geopolitical analyst for the Democracy Project Geoffrey Miller talks to Stacey Morrison about the changing security landscape in our region and around the world.

8:35 Daughter hears voice of father killed in action for the first time

Margaret Hooton's dad was Pilot Officer Daniel Clifford who was killed in action in 1942 while flying on a Royal Air Force bomber on a mission to Germany.

He had left New Zealand before Margaret was born and never got to meet his daughter.  

Now in her 80s, she has heard her father's voice for the very first time. 

Last year the former radio journalist and sound archivist, Sarah Johnston, came upon an old disc which contained a voice message recorded by Dan Clifford while he was training in Canada in 1941.

He was one of six New Zealanders at the Air Observer School in London, Ontario, training to become air observers and navigators on bomber aircraft. All six of them recorded messages, at a local radio station, to be sent home to New Zealand. 

9:06 Maungarongo Te Kawa: Weaving whakapapa into art

Anzac Day is a time where many remember their tipuna and ancestors, especially those who served for this country. 

This is definitely the case for fabric artist Maungarongo Te Kawa from Ngāti Porou.

His grandfather, Maungarongopai Ni Te Kawa, was part of the Māori battalion and died at 22-years-old.

Whakapapa is of great importance to Maungarongo and that springs forth in his elaborate, colourful quilts.

Over two decades, he has told the stories of Māori through his distinctive quilting style and recently he has been all across the motu teaching quilting workshops.

9:15 Commodore Andrew Brown in Samoa

The Samoan capital, Apia, is this morning hosting New Zealand and Australian military personnel as part of Anzac Day commemorations. 

New Zealand navy Commodore Andrew Brown is there and talks to Stacey Morrison. 

9:20 The forgotten Greek island that cared for injured ANZAC soldiers

Lemnos is situated about 60 kilometres from Gallipoli in the Aegean sea and in 1915 it hosted tens of thousands of Anzac and other Allied troops before the assault on Gallipoli. 

In the months afterwards thousands of wounded and exhausted troops were ferried from the battlefields back to Lemnos to rest and recover - although some never did. Dozens of New Zealand and Australian soldiers are buried in military cemeteries on the island. 

Dimitris Boulotis is the Deputy Mayor of the Municipality of Limnos, responsible for Public and International Relations and Manolis Ioannidis is an islander with a deep knowledge of what happened in 1915.

9:30 Back to Timor

A group of Kiwi military veterans who served in East Timor 25 years ago have made a pilgrammage back to the country, now called Timor Leste, to revisit some of people and places they encountered. 

Journalist Mike McRoberts accompanied the group to film a documentary of their journey which included an emotional return to the spot where Private Leonard Manning was killed in action in July 2000.

You can watch the video version of Back to Timor on TV3, ThreeNow and RNZ.co.nz/video from 5pm tonight. 

10:06 Ten year old trumpeting ANZAC Day

An award-winning musician at just ten years old, Celine Wu is a trumpet protégé who has graced the stage of New York's Carnegie Hall.

But come ANZAC Day you will find her here at home, playing at local commemorative services. 

Celine joins Susana Lei’ataua for a special performance. 

10:15 Remembering them on Rakiura-Stewart Island

Communities all over New Zealand are marking ANZAC Day in their own way - including on Rakiura-Stewart Island where a memorial commemorates those lost in the two World Wars.  

Susana talks to Mike Douglass, Senior firefighter with the Oban Volunteer Fire Service, who organised today's Anzac Day Dawn Service at Half Moon Bay. 

10:28 The war at sea - a survivor's story

During World War 2, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill described the Allied supply route to Russia - taken by the Arctic Convoys - as "the worst journey in the world". 

Weighed down by heavy ice in freezing temperatures and rolling in high swells, the convoys of allied and merchant navy supply ships were targeted by German planes and U-boats.   

102-year-old Chris King talks to Susana about the day there were so many enemy planes overhead that he stopped counting them.  

10:45 The legacy of war - a daughter's story

When World War I broke out, French Pass was a small community consisting of just a handful of houses, a school, a lighthouse and some surrounding farms. 

But like many others around the country, it paid for peace with the lives of its young men.

Angela Fitchett grew up on a farm in Waikawa Bay in the district of French Pass in the Marlborough Sounds. 

She is one of many New Zealanders marking ANZAC Day overseas - a chance to connect with those who fell far from home and to remember her father, who struggled to leave the horrors of war behind.  

Angela speaks to Susana on the eve of her trip to Belgium and France.

11:04 The next generation - a cadet excited to serve

ANZAC Day is a day that brings people of all ages together including those who could become our future soldiers, sailors and air crew.

The New Zealand Cadet Forces is the country's oldest youth organisation, offering training and unique experiences that develop leadership and life skills. 

There is no requirement to join the armed forces at the end of a course but it does provide an insight into what a military career might look like.

17 year old Tayla Francis is a Cadet Flight Sergeant with the Air Cadets. She joins Susana from Burnham Military Camp where she took part in the Dawn Service.

11:16 ANZAC Day across the Pacific 

In October 1915, 160 men travelled from Niue to New Zealand to join the war effort.

They trained at the Narrow Neck camp on Auckland's North Shore and sailed to Egypt in February 2016 with the 3rd Māori Reinforcements, before travelling on to France and serving with the New Zealand Expeditionary Force.

Niue is 23 hours behind New Zealand and the island nation is preparing to observe ANZAC Day tomorrow.

The Niue RSA is made up of the descendants of the men who served in the First World War. President, Charlie Tohovaka speaks to Susana from the capital of Niue, Alofi.

11:29 Reflecting on ANZAC Days past and present

If the name Arch Jelley seems familiar, it's because Arch famously coached legendary runner, John Walker.

But his years as a coach are part of a much bigger life which saw him celebrate his 21st birthday in New York at Jack Dempsey's bar during World War 2 and later serve on submarines.

Arch, whose family has a rich military history, also enjoyed a long and successful teaching career. 

Now 102 years old, he speaks to Susana from Auckland's Green Bay where he has also just marked ANZAC Day.  

11:39 Remembering service through music

ANZAC Day is about memories and memories of course can be triggered by a lot of things - including music.

Mark Brewer served in multiple deployments all over the world in a military career spanning almost 40 years.

He talks to Susana about three Kiwi songs that transport him back to three very different places in time.

ANZAC Day playlist

If you enjoyed the music from today's programme with Susana Lei’ataua, here is the full playlist:

ANZAC Hymn - The New Zealand Army Band 

Kahore He Manu E - Marlon Williams featuring Lorde 

Piano Concerto No. 2 - Sergey Rachmaninov 

Niu Silani Mo Niue Nei - Niue Cultural Group Auckland 

Sentimental Journey - Doris Day 

Moonlight Serenade - Glen Miller 

Why Does Love Do This To Me? - The Exponents 

Home Again - Shihad

Fade Away - Che Fu