Anzac Day

8:05 Mehrts: All Blacks At War

52 All Blacks served in World War I, and 13 didn't return home. Bryan Crump spoke with former All Black Andrew Mehrtens about his involvement in the 'All Blacks At War' documentary. 

8:30 ANZAC around the motu

RNZ reporters, Anna Sargent, and Finn Blackwell, report back after attending the Christchurch and Auckland dawn services.

8:36 Atatürk memorial

Bryan Crump and Brodie Stubbs, the manager of Te Pae Mahara Memorials, from the Ministry of Culture and Heritage, walked the track to the Atatürk memorial on Wellington's south coast, to see it first hand, and discuss the national significance of the memorial that honours Turkey's war dead.

8:45 Scott Base - the southernmost ANZAC service

We check in with the southernmost ANZAC Day service taking place in Antarctica at Scott Base. Richard Takurua, is the Telecommunications Service Technician at base, one of the twelve team members currently there. He speaks with Mark Leishman about life in Antarctica, and honoring traditions even from afar 

9:00 The NZ Mounted Rifles Brigade

The New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade was a brigade of horsemen from the New Zealand Army during the First World War. Raised in 1914 as part of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force, it was one of the first New Zealand units to sail for service overseas. Military historian Dr. Damien Fenton spoke with Bryan Crump about the New Zealand Mounted Rifle Brigade about its experiences in the Sinai-Palestine Campaign between 1916-1918.

9:30 Culinary history: Anzac Biscuits

Culinary historian, Allison Reynolds, shares the history behind the humble Anzac biscuit. Allison's travelled Australia, New Zealand and England, delving into war files and family cookbooks to investigate the origins and stories behind this national icon. Her findings are published in her book 'ANZAC Biscuits: The Power and spirit of an everyday icon'.

You can find Allison's recipe for both crispy and chewy Anzac biscuits here.

10:00 Pianos on the frontline

Emeritus Professor Michael Atherton, shares the remarkable story of the lengths troops went too to get pianos to the front during the Second World War. Before electricity brought us the gramophone, the radio and eventually the TV, the piano was central to family and community life. Michael's book 'A Coveted Possession: The Rise and Fall of the Piano in Australia' looks at everything from the instruments that floated ashore at Sydney Cove in the late eighteenth century to their adventures across Australia - including at the frontlines of war.

10:30 Comedian Melanie Bracewell

Billy T Award winner, Melanie Bracewell, has graced screens across Australasia with her quick witted charm.

In 2021 she made the move from Auckland to Melbourne, where she now hosts the hit TV show 'the Cheap Seats Australia', bringing a kiwi perspective to the everyday goings on across the ditch. She chats to Mark Leishman about the differences and similarities between Australia and New Zealand, ahead of her return to New Zealand with her upcoming stand up comedy show at the New Zealand International Comedy Festival. 

10:45 The New Zealand Secondary Students Choir

Bryan Crump caught up with Sue Densem, the Music Director of the New Zealand Secondary Students' Choir, along with choir leaders, Jasmine Hulton and Teddy Finney-Waters, and cultural leader, Siaosi Lavelua. The group discuss their ANZAC performance at Te Papa, their experiences being part of the choir, and even sing a few tunes for us.