Ian McGibbon, ONZM 25 April 2025
I am honoured to give the memorial address at this ceremony on the 110th anniversary of the Anzac landing at Gallipoli in 1915. It is important to recognise those who served and fell in this first major campaign fought by New Zealanders, and those that served in the other ferocious battles that followed, especially on the Western Front — by far the most bloody of this country’s military campaigns. Among those who answered the call in 1914–1918 were 34 men of this town, of whom eleven (32 per cent) now lie in graves on the other side of the world.
Although Anzac Day originated in the First World War, it now commemorates all those who have fallen in battle serving their country. In the ensuing century and a decade, they have fought all over the globe, but especially in Western Europe, the Mediterranean, the Middle East, Korea, Vietnam, Malaysia and Afghanistan — not forgetting South Africa before Gallipoli. Korea is of special moment this year because it will be 75 years in June since North Korean troops burst across the 38th Parallel in an effort to reunify the peninsula by force. New Zealand was one of sixteen countries that answered the call to support the United Nations’ effort to defeat this aggression. Its contribution, though small in overall numbers, was in fact the second highest per capita of the sixteen after the United States. Forty-five New Zealanders gave their lives in this conflict, which ended in a stalemate. And we should not overlook that it will be 60 years next month since the deployment of combat troops in South Vietnam in the ultimately unsuccessful attempt to preserve the Republic of Vietnam. Thirty-seven New Zealanders died in that campaign.
But today I want to focus on the Second World War, which was, of course, especially momentous for Paekakariki. Last year, I spoke about the sacrifice made by this town at Gallipoli and in the rest of the First World War. In particular I referred to the Lynch family, three of whose members fell at Gallipoli. Paekakariki was no less willing to meet the challenge that arose from New Zealand’s declaration of war on Germany in 1939 — and later on Italy and Japan, and a number of smaller European states, as well.
By 1939 Paekakariki had grown and 71 men, more than double those who went to the First World War, went overseas in the Second, serving on land and the sea, and in the air. Mercifully, the death toll was much less: only six did not come back this time: Cyril Comrie, Keith Donald, Jim Gray, Trevor Thompson, Mac Pepperell and Aubrey Smith. That is according to the roll of honour in your railway station museum. But I found at least two other fatal casualties who listed Paekakariki as their place of residence on enlisting — Gunner Malcolm McKinlay, who died of wounds during the battles on the Alamein Line in Egypt in July 1942 and Private Sydney Baines, who was killed in action in Tunisia in 1943. So in fact eight of 73 gave their lives (9 per cent). We remember their sacrifice today.
For Paekakarikians at home, the Second World War came to them in 1942, with the establishment of a major military camp nearby. US marines trained here before heading to Tarawa, where they suffered heavy casualties in seizing the atoll from the Japanese. Some died while training here. The two-year American presence created an enduring link.
The Second World War was the greatest conflict in human history — and one that cost at least 50 million lives. The toll in military casualties was enormous, as was the even greater toll taken of civilians. But the cost in lives was not the only horrendous aspect of the war. It starkly revealed the depths to which man could sink in pursuit of ideological or nationalist aims. If anyone doubts the need for Paekakariki’s sacrifice in defeating Adolf Hitler’s Germany, I urge them to make a journey to Krakov in Poland, and visit the nearby Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, as my wife and I did last September. Of course, the full horror of the Holocaust, the greatest crime in history, will always be beyond our comprehension. But it is certainly sobering to view the scale of the death camp at Birkenau or the museum in the Auschwitz camp. More than a million people were murdered in this complex — mostly but not just Jews. It must not be forgotten that a wide variety of others, including many Poles and Roma, also met their end in that dreadful place.
The horrors that were revealed at the end of the war in Auschwitz and elsewhere left a sense that such obscenities must never be allowed to occur again. This was enhanced by the enormous leap in the destructiveness of weapons represented by the atom bombs dropped on two Japanese cities in 1945. Attempts to create a universal security system led to the creation of the United Nations, a process in which New Zealand played its part. At the heart of the new order was the concept of territorial integrity. Aggression must be outlawed.
The world order that was created after the war was not perfect. But it did establish norms that under-pinned an international order that endured for three-quarters of a century. People like myself born shortly after the war have been fortunate — certainly the world has seen much strife in our lifetimes, but there has been no war between the great powers that might have forced us into uniform, like our fathers and uncles. Nuclear deterrence encouraged adherence to the rule-based order.
Sadly, that world order is rapidly disappearing. Conditions similar to those of the 1930s are resurfacing. Autocracies and dictatorships are on the rise. Democracy is under stress…
Above all, aggression has raised its ugly head again. Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine has brought war to Europe after 80 years of general peace. Vladimir Putin’s action recalls Hitler’s pre-war demands to bring all Germans within the Reich, which culminated in the appeasement tragedy for Czechoslovakia at Munich in 1938. With the developments of the last few months, the spectre of another dishonourable betrayal is now very much before us. The aggressor seems poised to make off with at least part, if not all of his spoils.
But that is only one worry. When the great power we admired as the defender of freedom and democracy shamefully hoists its colours with the aggressor, alongside the vile North Korean regime, at the United Nations and its leader starts talking about seizing the sovereign territory of a long-time ally, we cannot avoid the conclusion that the international order we prized is creaking at the seams. Neville Chamberlain tried appeasement in 1938 and it failed miserably, leading indirectly to the deaths of the eight men from this town.
The growing world disorder evokes the 1930s in another way. The countries of Europe are rearming… even Germany. An arms race is underway. More seriously, the situation regarding nuclear weapons is set to deteriorate. The alliance system that provided security in Europe and our own region is faltering. For countries like Japan and South Korea the rational decision to preserve their security is to acquire their own nuclear deterrent, similar to that owned by Britain and France. We can expect nuclear proliferation. How safe will anyone be when there is a score of nuclear powers?
We in New Zealand must give new attention to security. We must prepare for uncertain times. It is encouraging, therefore, that the urgency of the moment seems to have been recognised by the government with the recently announced defence capability plan. Anzac Day is a reminder of the toll that might be extracted should the collapse of the existing international order continue, but another world war will be infinitely worse than the last one.
New Zealand men and women rose to the challenge in 1939-45, and we must never forget the sacrifice that was made by many to preserve the way of life we have enjoyed in these islands. We must hope that the international order that has given us peace for so long can be preserved despite the current worrying signs.