To mark Anzac week, Kāhui St David’s, Auckland’s centre for music-making, inspiration and social connection, will host the 10th annual Art of Remembrance event on Anzac Eve, Thursday 24 April, with a powerful evening of music, reflection and tribute.

Event: Art of Remembrance 2025 - we will will remember them 
When: Thursday 24 April | 6:00pm – 8:00pm
Where: Kāhui St David’s, 70 Khyber Pass Road, Grafton, Auckland
Tickets: Free entry – all welcome - tickets available via Eventfinda | www.kahuistdavids.nz

St David’s Memorial Church, whose foundation stone was laid on Anzac Day 1927 as a memorial to World War One, was originally dedicated as The Soldiers’ Memorial Church. Today, it is home to Kāhui St David’s, a charitable trust, and serves as a place of remembrance for all branches of the New Zealand Defence Force, as well as Auckland’s centre for cultural connection, community gathering, as a living memorial. 

Honouring the Royal New Zealand Nursing Corps

This year’s Art of Remembrance pays special tribute to the Royal New Zealand Nursing Corps, past and present, for their service in war, conflict and peacekeeping. It also recognises the vital role nurses play across Aotearoa - providing care in hospitals, communities, both at home and abroad.

Georgina Greville, a senior nurse at Middlemore Hospital, whose immediate family included five World War One service members, says: “There were two nurses, two doctors, and one soldier with the Auckland Mounted Rifles.
“My grandmother and sister were both nurses, serving in Egypt, Lemnos, and on the Western front, including at the Battle of the Somme.

“The role of nurses in conflict and peacekeeping has historically been overlooked for many reasons. Having this permanent display in the Great Hall of Kāhui St David’s, near the Lamp of Remembrance, the RNZE memorial window, the Sappers’ Chapel, and plaques dedicated to the 28th Māori Battalion and 29th and 30th Infantry Battalions, will be deeply meaningful to all nurses.

“It recognises the contribution of nursing across all areas we serve - in both military and civilian contexts.”

Kāhui St David’s is located in Grafton, near the medical and nursing schools and Auckland Hospital.

As part of this year’s commemoration, a bronze plaque dedicated to the Royal New Zealand Nursing Corps will be unveiled and permanently installed in the Great Hall of Kāhui St David’s.

Paul Baragwanath, Director of Friends of St David’s Trust Kāhui Rangi Pūpū, says: “Nurses have served with courage and compassion in every major conflict New Zealand has faced. In what is our 10th year of Art of Remembrance, we honour their legacy, their ongoing service, and their place at the heart of care - both in uniform and throughout our hospitals and communities.

“We also hope that all nurses will see Kāhui St David’s as their place, together with whānau of the RNZE (Royal New Zealand Engineers), 28 Battalion and Veterans.” says Baragwanath.

Since launching in 2015 with the Max Gimblett quatrefoil installation, the Art of Remembrance has become a nationally recognised tradition. In 2023, Brigadier Rose King (now Chief of Army) lit the Lamp of Remembrance, which continues to shine daily at Kāhui St David’s, honouring all who have served across the Defence Force and veteran community. Today, the building stands as a memorial for all branches of service.

Many are expected to attend Art of Remembrance, experiencing the magnificent acoustics of this revitalised heritage space, with performances by Soprano Felicity Tomkins and Michelle Thorne, David Harvey on bagpipes, the Off Broadway Big Band, Helen Lukman-Fox on the 1905 Croft Organ and the audience singing together.

Paul Baragwanath concludes: “Kāhui St David’s is a place where remembrance lives on - through art, music, and community, and New Zealand’s military remembrance.

“This much-loved annual event brings together veterans, whānau, musicians and the wider public in a space known for its magnificent acoustics and deep sense of purpose.

“This new plaque ensures our nurses, so often unsung, are acknowledged in this special space for generations to come.”

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