April 24, 2020
DIY service replaces dawn parade
A former serviceman is encouraging people to hold their own Anzac ceremonies at home tomorrow.
Dawn services around the country have been cancelled because of COVID-19, but the Returned Services Association is encouraging people to stand at dawn at their letterbox or inside their home and listen in to a broadcast service.
Hemana Waaka says he’s making his own arrangements and has made a shrine of photographs of whānau members who served and his old comrades, which he has bedecked with flowers.
"Come tomorrow morning I'll wake up, get dressed, put the tie on, not because I like to wear a tie but it's a mark of respect, and put my medals on, and then I'll conduct the service with my own Last Post and Reveille. I'll do the ode in Māori and Pākehā as if I was in front of everybody else like we normally would," Mr Waaka says.
The official Stand At Dawn service will start at 6 am tomorrow, which Radio Waatea will broadcast in association with RNZ National is partnering with the RSA and New Zealand Defence Force.
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