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Claire Bleakley and Joseph Bolton (back left), with Featherston School pupils proudly holding up the new town signage. PHOTO/FILE
‘We will remember them’ EMILY IRELAND
About 20 poppy-adorned signs have been installed in Featherston, paying tribute to the town’s rich military history. The signs, which were unveiled on Friday, can be seen at Anzac Hall, Camp Rd, Messines Way, Soldiers Settlement Rd, the War Memorial, RSA, Dorset Square, Churchill Cres, Birdwood St, and the Featherston Cemetery. The unveiling ceremony was attended by the First Secretary of the Embassy of Japan Isamu Azechi, and Honorary Consul from the Consulate of Belgium Don Staples.
Featherston Community Board member Claire Bleakley, who has been driving Featherston’s involvement with the nationwide Poppy Places Trust remembrance project, said it was important to remember New Zealand’s war history, and the part that Featherston played in it. “We have to remember our history to ensure we don’t make the same mistakes in the future,” she said. Behind each new sign in the town is a story, told by Featherston schoolchildren, which can be read on the Poppy Places website.
All the stories will be presented at Booktown in May. “What is so exciting is that the children’s stories will be up there forever. “So, when they are older, they will say to their moko, this is the way we remembered. “Each generation will do something different to remember – we might have a rap generation that go rapping down the street – the point is that this project will be built upon and will be ongoing.” Attached to the signs are QR codes which can be scanned with a phone, taking the user directly to the online story.
Featherston Community Board chair Robyn Ramsden said the board was approached in May last year to assist in the Poppy Places project. “Many members of our community, both young and the experienced, have contributed to this project,” she said. “It is important this history is captured for future generations as a reminder of past hardship and conflict. “These places do more than commemorate the past, they remind us not to walk there again.” Masterton also features numerous Poppy Places.
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