Historic Anzac Day For Aotearoa/New Zealand

Grace MacCormick says that for the first time in its history, the Royal New Zealand Returned Services Association (RNZRSA) and the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) commemorated ANZAC Day services with a virtual Dawn Service.

Kiwis up and down the country woke early to stand at the end of driveways, front doors and gardens to remember our veterans and service personnel.

rime Minister Jacinda Ardern stands at dawn on the driveway of Premier House wit

(Prime Minister at dawn on the driveway of Premier House with her father Ross Ardern – left, and partner Clarke Gayford. Photo: NZ Herald)

ANZAC Day is one of New Zealand’s most important national occasions.

However, the real meaning of what we are commemorating is often lost in the pomp and ceremony of public services.

Everyone is in this — Mayor Guru

Kāpiti District Mayor K Gurunathan says the significance of this year’s ANZAC Day is more apparent than ever.

“The pandemic has highlighted our national traits of connectedness, compassion, endurance and ingenuity.

“We are all making huge sacrifices, in a way most of us have never had to before,” Mayor Gurunathan says.

defence Minister Mark’s speech

Despite not being able to gather in a public service due to COVID-19 restrictions, there was still much Kiwis could do to commemorate the day according to Defence Minister Ron Mark.

In a broadcast address Mark encouraged Kiwis to “Pause, reflect, pay our respects and give thanks to those who gave so much not just 105 years ago at Gallipoli, or the six long years of the Second World War, but for every conflict and every operation which we have been involved with since then.

“We owe them that and it is a privilege to do so.”

“This Anzac Day look after each other, remember, commemorate and give thanks — but inside your bubble,” he said.

Stand at Dawn website

On the Stand at Dawn website, there were activities available that the whole family could do to make ANZAC Day special.

These included making your homemade poppies, decorating letterboxes with ANZAC themes, and researching family members who have served New Zealand.

(A photo of family remembrance, captured in my neighbourhood)

The MacCormick’s Day

On a personal note; as a family, we actually sat and talked about the meaning of the day which is something I cannot remember doing in a long time.

My grandfather, Kenneth MacCormick, served in two wars and it was a day that we could remember him as well as those who laid down their lives to serve our country.

Perhaps this alternate, and intensely personal way of celebrating ANZAC Day within our bubbles, will help us to appreciate and understand the real reason for the commemoration.

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STORY OF THE WEEK

The reinstatement of $411,000 for new library books in the proposed annual plan has been welcomed by Councillor Bernie Randall and Deputy Community Board Chair Guy Burns.

Board deputy chair Guy Burns

Cr Bernie Randall

They say the Covid-19 lockdown has shown the community the value of books and reading.

Communmity Board helped lead the way

In December the Paraparaumu/Raumati Community Board passed a resolution urging the Council to restore the total library book budget in the annual plan.

THIS MONTH 123 Years Ago

Margaret Cruickshank became the first woman to be registered as a doctor in New Zealand in this month in 1897..

From 1897 to 1918 she served the small South Canterbury community of Waimate. She worked tirelessly during the 1918 influenza pandemic but eventually caught the disease herself and died on 28 November 1918.

Margaret Barnet Cruickshank and her twin Christina were born at Palmerston, Otago, in January 1873. After their mother's death in 1883 the twins attended school on alternate days so one could stay home to care for the five younger children in the family. In the evening the other taught her twin what she had learnt that day.

After attending Palmerston District High School, Margaret went to Otago Girls' High School, where she was joint dux with her sister. Christina Cruickshank gained an MA and MSc at the University of Otago and became principal of Wanganui Girls' College. Margaret attended the University of Otago Medical School. In 1897 she became the second woman in New Zealand to complete a medical course - a year after her friend Emily Siedeberg.

Margaret then accepted a position as assistant to Dr H. C. Barclay of Waimate, and on 3 May 1897 became New Zealand's first registered woman doctor. Apart from a year's study in Britain in 1913, she worked in the town for the rest of her life, eventually becoming a partner in the practice. Her dedication to her work made her immensely popular in the small South Canterbury community.

In 1914, with Barclay away on active service, Margaret carried the full burden of the practice and shared the role as hospital superintendent. She also organised the local work of the Waimate Red Cross Fund. When the 1918 influenza pandemic struck she began working day and night, in many cases providing services well beyond those expected of a doctor. The son of her housekeeper recalled:

Where the mother was laid low, she fed the baby, prepared a meal, and in many cases where whole families were laid low she would milk the family cow to obtain milk for their sustenance.

Margaret caught influenza herself and died of pneumonia at Waimate on 28 November 1918. She was one of 14 New Zealand doctors who lost their lives during the pandemic. In 1923 the people of Waimate unveiled a 3-m-high memorial statue to her in Seddon Square, inscribed 'The Beloved Physician/Faithful unto Death'.

The maternity ward at Waimate Hospital was named in her honour in 1948. And in 2007 the Ministry of Health named a pandemic preparedness exercise 'Exercise Cruickshank' in recognition of her work during the 1918 influenza pandemic.

Kāpiti and Coast Independent

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