Cenotaph update plan

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Cenotaph update plan.

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Levin's public gardens are to get a fresh look with an updated war memorial and new landscaping.

The plans have been unveiled by Adopt an Anzac with the support of the Horowhenua District Council.

Adopt an Anzac has been the force behind the project after the discovery of more than 30 horowhenua men who fought in both world wars and for unknown reasons were not included on the district's war memorials.

Adopt an Anzac chairman Tom Hayes said the group felt it was important that these men be publicly remembered and have worked had to ensure their dignity is honoured.

The revamped memorial will include two curved walls featuring four tablets on which their names will be inscribed.

One of the new tablets will replicate the World War II memorial at the Levin RSA.

It was originally in the Levin War Memorial Hall and was shifted to the Levin RSA around 1970 after members were concerned partygoers at functions in the hall were desecrating it.

The memorial is "on loan" to the RSA and Adopt an Anzac's first thought was that it should be removed to the public gardens but after consultation with funeral director and stonemason Denis Mark it was decided it should stay where it is and the names instead be replicated at the gardens.

"We feel it is important that the casualties from both world wars are remembered in one place in levin as they are in other horowhenua towns," Mr Hayes said.

It also means the rsa will be able to lay its two wreathes at the gardens each Anzac Day instead of having to hold a second ceremony at the RSA clubrooms during Dawn Parade.

The other tablets will be inscribed with the names of two Boer War casualties, 14 from World War I and seven from World War II discovered during research.

A Korean casualty included on the rsa memorial will be placed under a separate heading and there will be room on the tablets for further finds and any future casualties.

Adopt an Anzac is excited about the project and hopes to have it completed by Anzac Day next year.

Work is expected to begin after Armistice Day November 11 when a ceremony to mark the 90th anniversary of the end of World War I will be held at the cenotaph.

The project has been referred to the Historic Places Trust, the Internal Affairs Department and Veteran Affairs and already has the support of the Levin RSA.

President RobinRichardson congratulated Adopt an Anzac on its outstanding efforts and dedication.

"Of special significance is all the work that has gone into updating the names on the cenotaph, including tracing and ensuring that all the names are correctly spelt," he said.

"The new plaques with the names of all known deceased personnel of the Horowhenua area from the Boer War, World War I and II, Korea and through to vietnam is of great importance as it is absolutely essential that all who died be remembered in one place.

"Those who returned home and have since passed away must not be forgotten either, particularly on Anzac Day," he said.

Council parks assets officer Doug Tate who has been working with the group is pleased with the progress made on the project.

"It's great to see the community getting behind a project that is principally community driven to remember those who have fallen before us," he said.

"The project will further complement work already undertaken at the rose gardens along with the relocated courthouse and the historic Thompson House and grounds to provide another great asset in the centre of Levin."

Other names need to be added to memorials in Foxton, Shannon and Manakau but that can be done without major work and funding will be sought from each of these communities in further stages of Adopt an Anzac's overall project.

A new look memorial

• the existing cenotaph will remain in place but the ground around it will be sloped downwards to a new "poppy box" memorial in a paved plaza extending to Cambridge Street.

•a new tiered path will connect the plaza to the base of the cenotaph with wheelchair ramps and handrails at each side for easier access.

• a special feature of the plaza - designed to be a contemporary memorial to levin's war dead - is the 25 "poppy boxes" dispersed throughout it.

•the boxes will be made of toughened glass with the images of poppies inside. each one will be lit so the memorial will glow red at night and be a constant reminder to passers-by of its significance.

•each box will be topped with a steel plate inscribed with an occupation like teacher, farmer and grocer of the soldiers who died in the world wars.

•the existing large totara, rimu and VE day memorial totara are to be incorporated into the plaza in circular gardens.

•the battered rock that forms the platform for the cenotaph will be used to form two sloping walls behind it to hold the raised front lawn.

Courtesy The Chronicle, Levin