ANZAC Day 2026

April 25 commemorates New Zealanders killed in war and honours returned and serving servicemen and women.

Our National Day of Remembrance – Rā o Ngā Hōia – ANZAC day now promotes a sense of unity. People whose politics, beliefs and aspirations are widely different can share a genuine sorrow at the loss of so many lives in war, and a real respect for those who have endured conflict on behalf of the country we live in.

Recitation of ‘The Ode’

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning

We will remember them.

Lest we forget!

E kore rātou e kaumātuatia

Pēnei i a tātou kua mahue nei

E kore hoki rātou e ngoikore

Ahakoa pehea i ngā āhuatanga o te wā

I te hekenga atu o te rā

Tae noa ki te arangamai i te ata

Ka maumahara tonu tātou ki a rātou

Ka maumahara tonu tātou ki a rātou

The Ode comes from ‘For the Fallen’, a poem by the English poet and writer Laurence Binon and was published in London in The Winnowing Fan: Poems of the Great War in 1914. This verse, which became the Ode for the Returned and Services League, has been used in association with commemoration services in this country since 1921.

Information directly from:

Catholic Resources National Day of Rememberance