Various war memorial plaques and ensigns (flags) are on display inside Christ Church Cathedral in Nelson.
Above the central city is Church Hill (also known as Pikimai). Leading up to the cathedral are the Church Steps - also known as the Cawthron steps.These were originally planned as a memorial to Albert Pitt, Minister of Defence, Lt Colonel of the NZ Militia and C.O. of the Nelson Military District 1877-1899, but were eventually dedicated at their opening on 20 September 1912 to local businessman and benefactor Thomas Cawthron instead.
Several flags of military significance are on display within the cathedral. These include three white ensigns from the Gallipoli campaign. One is accompanied by a brass plaque inscribed: "Anzac / This white ensign / was flown on / 'H.M.S. Queen' / during the landing at Anzac / 25th, April, 1915 / - / Presented by / Admiral Sir Cecil Fiennes Thursby / K.C.B., K.C.M.G". The other two [shown in the main photograph above] are labelled: "Anzac / These White Ensigns were flown on / H.M.S. 'Colne' and 'Chelmer' respec-/tively at the Dardanelles in the year 1915. / - / Presented by / Rear-Admiral the Hon. Douglas Edward Harry Boyle, / C.B., C.M.G., M.V.O." There are also the regimental colours of the former Nelson, Marlborough and West Coast Regiment, laid up in 1969.
When the new cathedral was opened in 1932, several memorial plaques and tablets came from the old cathedral. These included a plain, white marble tablet inscribed simply IN MEMORY OF / THOSE WHO FELL AT THE WAIRAU / 17TH OF JUNE 1843, This had been installed in the old cathedral choir in October 1865 in commemoration of the 'Wairau incident', in which 22 European settlers and four Māori had died in a clash over land.
There was also the the 'Childrens' Boer War memorial', so called as it was paid for by penny subscriptions from local school children. More details on this are given elsewhere (Nelson South African War memorial tablet).
During or after the First World War memorial plaques had also been unveiled in memory of three individual officers: Major James Houlker, who died on 10 August 1915 from wounds received in action at Gallipoli; Major Frederick Stuckey, who was killed in action at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915; and Lieutenant Harold S. Kempthorne, who was killed in action at Ypres on 24 August 1917.
There are two Second World War memorial tablets. One is of Takaka marble inscribed IN PROUD AND THANKFUL COMMEMORATION / OF THE HEROES OF THE / PEOPLE OF BRITAIN AND / OF LONDON IN PARTICULAR DURING THE / RELENTLESS AERIAL ATTACKS THROUGHOUT / THE WORLD WAR 1939-1945. THEIR / FORTITUDE WAS A CONTINUOUS INSPIRATION / TO THE ARMED FORCES AND THE PEOPLES / OF THE ALLIED NATIONS AND CONTRIBUTED / MUCH TO THE VICTORY WHICH CONSERVED / FOR US AND OUR CHILDREN THE PRICELESS / HERITAGE OF FREEDOM. / / LET THOSE WHO COME AFTER SEE / THAT THEY BE NOT FORGOTTEN.
There is also a tribute to members of the RNZAF who served in the Pacific theatre: "In grateful remembrance of the men and women / of the Royal New Zealand Air Force / who made the supreme sacrifice / in the War of the Pacific 1941 - 1945. / / Wherever, and for as long / as freedom flourishes on this earth, / the men and women who possess it / will thank them, and will say / They did not die in vain."
See: 'The Wairau massacre, tablets in memory of the fallen', Colonist, 17/10/1865, p. 3; 'Late Major Stuckey', Nelson Evening Mail, 30/12/1915, p. 2; 'The late Major Houlker', Colonist, 5/8/1916, p. 4; 'Personal', Hawkes Bay Tribune', 17/8/1921, p. 4; W.R.P. Jacques, A Guide to Christ Church Cathedral, Nelson, Nelson, 1967, pp. 12-28; Karen Stade, Meet You at the Church Steps: A Social History of a Nelson Landmark, Nelson, 2013; Nelson Cathedral: The Story of the Church on the Hill, Nelson, 2000
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