Ashburton Courier: November 18, 2021
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www.ashburtoncourier.co.nz<br />
<strong>Ashburton</strong> <strong>Courier</strong>, <strong>November</strong> <strong>18</strong>, <strong>2021</strong><br />
21<br />
Armistice Day WWI fallen remembered<br />
DANIEL.TOBIN<br />
@ashburtoncourier.co.nz<br />
Returned servicepersonnel and<br />
members of the public gathered<br />
at the cenotaph in downtown<br />
<strong>Ashburton</strong>last weekto<br />
commemorate Armistice Day.<br />
Armistice Day acknowledges<br />
the signing of an armistice<br />
between The Allies and<br />
Germany and the ending of the<br />
World War Iin19<strong>18</strong>.<br />
On the 11th hour of the 11th<br />
day of the 11th month,the guns<br />
fell silent.<br />
Although Anzac Day has<br />
becomethe main day to<br />
remember the fallen of WWI,<br />
New Zealand continues to mark<br />
Armistice Day everyyear.<br />
Around50people took part in<br />
the <strong>Ashburton</strong> ceremony which<br />
started with two minutes of<br />
silence after the townclock<br />
struckeleven.<br />
RSA president Merv Brenton<br />
and <strong>Ashburton</strong> District Council<br />
deputymayor Liz McMillan gave<br />
speeches,then wreaths were<br />
laid on the steps of the cenotaph<br />
and The Last Post was played by<br />
Jim Lischner.<br />
Members of the <strong>Ashburton</strong><br />
Cadet Unit and <strong>Ashburton</strong> Air<br />
Training Corp’s 24 Squadron<br />
were also involved.<br />
Mr Brentonsaid although<br />
there were no WWI veterans<br />
alive now it was stillimportant<br />
to remembertheir sacrifice.<br />
‘‘The veterans didn'ttalk<br />
about it much, but if you watch<br />
the movies like Peter Jackson’s<br />
RSA presidentMerv Brenton speaks at the Armistice Day commemorations held at the <strong>Ashburton</strong> cenotaph.<br />
(They ShallNot GrowOld) it just<br />
shows why they didn't talk, it<br />
was horrendous, today warfare<br />
is totally different, in those days<br />
it was reallyhand to hand.’’<br />
Ms McMillan said at the start<br />
of WWI there were 12,000<br />
people living in the <strong>Ashburton</strong><br />
districtand 500 locals were<br />
killed in thatwar.<br />
‘‘Ithas had ahuge impact on<br />
the district, so we are hereto<br />
commemorate what they did<br />
and the sacrifices they madefor<br />
us.’’<br />
PHOTO DANIEL TOBIN<br />
Artistic flare for<br />
Chorus cabinets<br />
Two <strong>Ashburton</strong><br />
Choruscabinets<br />
have been givena<br />
makeover with<br />
eyecatching<br />
murals, and<br />
another twomore<br />
aredue in the<br />
comingweeks.<br />
Designs by local<br />
artistsGeorgette<br />
Thompsonand<br />
Melanie Davis<br />
werechosen by<br />
<strong>Ashburton</strong> District<br />
Councilaspart of<br />
theannualChorus<br />
cabinet art<br />
initiative.<br />
Georgette’s strikingdesign<br />
appears on aSeafield Road<br />
cabinet and celebratesthe<br />
history of the<strong>Ashburton</strong><br />
Airport.<br />
“ManyKiwis have learnt to<br />
flyinthe <strong>Ashburton</strong>District.<br />
During WWII, <strong>Ashburton</strong>'s<br />
airport became atraining<br />
base and housedupto50<br />
Tiger Mothplanes. The pilots<br />
certainly had apicturesque<br />
backdrop to trainin,”she<br />
says.<br />
Entitled Kiwis CanFly, the<br />
mural features anative Kiwi<br />
flying aTiger Moth over the<br />
Canterbury Plains, which<br />
Georgettebelieves must’ve<br />
been quite distracting for<br />
pilots during WWII.<br />
Theother completed mural<br />
by Melanie, entitled Pollen<br />
forthe Hive, celebratesthe<br />
honey bee and features<br />
delicate manuka flowers.<br />
Thiscan be foundin<br />
HavelockStreet.<br />
Mayor Neil Brown says the<br />
Georgette Thompson's Chorus cabinet<br />
on Seafield Road.<br />
artworks are really<br />
appreciated by the whole<br />
<strong>Ashburton</strong> community.<br />
“We know that these<br />
communicationscabinets<br />
will be in ourstreets forsome<br />
timesowhat canbebetter<br />
than turning them into<br />
canvases to showcase the<br />
truly great talents of our local<br />
artists,” he said.“Our council<br />
is really pleased to helpmake<br />
this happen and we look<br />
forward to seeingthe<br />
remaining two murals come<br />
to life.”<br />
Chorus community<br />
relations manager Jo Seddon<br />
says it has been wonderfulto<br />
work with<strong>Ashburton</strong>District<br />
Council once again.<br />
“With thecouncilgetting<br />
behind the initiative and<br />
helping out with theselection<br />
of cabinets anddesigns, we<br />
have been able to continue<br />
this each year,” she said.<br />
“We couldn’tdoitwithout<br />
them.’’<br />
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