Stories Behind Dunedin Roll Of Honour
MEDIA RELEASE | 11 May, 2009
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Exhibition
Reveals Stories Behind Dunedin Roll Of Honour
There are just over 2,500 names on Dunedin’s Roll of Honour.
The
series of memorial banners records the names and details of
all those who served and made the ultimate sacrifice in the
wars of the twentieth century.
More than half (1545) of
the soldiers named died during World War 1.
A number,
including 22-year-old Corporal Donald Peter Brown Hosie,
lost their lives at Passchendaele, on New Zealand’s
bloodiest day, October 12th, 1917.
Before he enlisted,
Hosie, of Kirkland Hill, Kaikorai, worked as an architect
for the Dunedin firm of Edmund Anscombe and
Associates.
Just prior to his conscription he had won a competition to design Wanganui’s new art gallery, the Sarjeant Gallery, and authorities agreed to a request by the then town mayor to defer his overseas posting until he had completed the working draw-ings.
Widely regarded as among
the finest provincial art gallery in New Zealand, the
gal-lery was opened by Prime Mini
ster William Massey in
September 1919.
It would be Hosie’s only work.
He
died three weeks after the foundation stone was laid. He now
lies buried at the Passchendaele New British
Cemetery.
Next month, (June 6 – May 7) the story of his
sacrifice and that of his Otago mates will be commemorated
with a special southern showing of the exhibition
Pass-chendaele: The Belgians Have Not Forgotten at the Otago
Settlers Museum.
The exhibition, developed by the
Memorial Museum Passchendaele 1917, is being brought to
Dunedin by the Belgians as a mark of deep respect for the
‘southern men’ who gave so much – more in fact,
Curator, Franky Bostyn says, than any other region in New
Zealand.
Of the 2700 New Zealand casualties on October
12th 1917 during the First Battle of Passchendaele – 800
were from Otago of whom195 were killed.
“It was
the Otago Regiment who led the first wave against at least
eight German pillboxes, without adequate artillery support.
As a result Bellevue Spur would be-come the graveyard for
many of these brave young men.”
Less than two months later on December 3rd 1917, once again it was the Otago Regiment, who shoulder to shoulder with the Canterbury Regiment, would be first in line for the attack on Polderhoek Chateau, where Sgt Henry Nicholas of 1st Can-terbury would earn his Victoria Cross.
“These young
men from Otago and Southland constantly, tragically and
heroically, put themselves on the line. They were extremely
good soldiers.”
Franky Bostyn believes it is also
fitting the southernmost seaon of the exhibition will be
hosted by the Otago Settlers Museum.
The Museum sits between the Dunedin Railway Station – a Passchendaele Memorial in its own right - and the Dunedin Cenotaph.
Passchendaele: The Belgians Have Not Forgotten
opens at the Otago Settlers Museum, 31 Queens Gardens,
Dunedin, on June 6 and runs through until July 5.
It can
be viewed daily from 10am to 5pm. Admission is FREE.
The
exhibition Passchendaele:The Belgians Have Not Forgotten
opened in Wel-lington in March and is currently in
Christchurch.
It continues to stir emotions as it travels the country. Comments in the visitors book include:
'A
very thought provoking display."
" A beautiful and
dignified memorial...thank you."
"Special exhibition,
helping our younger generation gain a little understanding
of what our forefathers and fore mothers went
through."
"A magnificent, powerful exhibition,
wonderfully organised, in which facts were given great
reverence by the sculptures as well as the photos - I am
less ignorant than I was."
" A very moving tribute-the
sculptures are truly beautiful."
" A sobering reminder of
what my grandfather T Halstead(Jack) went through at
Passchendaele.”
"A moving experience - thank you from
a grateful generation."
" What our father never told
us."
" A key factor in New Zealand's history that makes
us who we are."
“Thank you for bringing this exhibition
to New Zealand. I could today pay tribute to my father’s
eldest brother who died in France of wounds received at
Passchen-daele.”
Venues and Dates:
‣ Christchurch 21
April – 30 May Our City O-Tautahi Cnr Worcester Boulevard
& Oxford Terrace
‣ Dunedin 7 June – 5 July Otago
Settlers Museum 31 Queens Gardens Open daily 10am – 5pm.
Admission FREE
‣ Featherston 14 July – 16 August
Anzac Hall
‣ Waiouru 24 August – 27 September New
Zealand Army Museum
‣ Auckland 4 October – 15
November Fort Takapuna
The exhibition is supported by
the Waimakariri-Zonnebeke Trust, formed following the
official twinning of the two districts during the 90th
commemorations of the Battle of Pass-chendaele to promote
cultural, educational and business opportunities between the
two.
ends