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Tolaga Bay war memorial

Tolaga Bay war memorial

Tolaga Bay war memorial Tolaga Bay war memorial Tolaga Bay war memorial Tolaga Bay war memorial

The Tolaga Bay or Uawa County First World War memorial was a brick-and-concrete three-arch gateway built as a formal entranceway to the Tolaga Bay recreation ground. It was unveiled on Anzac Day 1925 (‘Tolaga Bay Memorial Gates’, Poverty Bay Herald, 18/3/1925, p. 7; ‘Tolaga Bay’s Memorial Gates: Official Opening Ceremony’, Poverty Bay Herald, 21/4/1925, p. 5; John Laurie, Tolaga Bay: A History of the Uawa District, Gisborne, 1991, p. 144).

Marble plaques on either side of the main arch listed the names of 22 men from the area who had lost their lives. After the Second World War plaques listing another 44 names of men who had died were added ( ‘Tologa Bay War Memorial’ [public notice], Gisborne Herald, 18/6/1949, p. 2; ‘Tablets Unveiled at Tolaga Bay’, Gisborne Herald, 26/4/1949, p. 4).

On Anzac Day 2015, plaques listing the names of local men and women who had served in the First World War, Second World War, Japan, Korea, Malaya, Borneo and Vietnam were unveiled.

 

Keywords

tolaga bay
Credit

Main image: Jock Phillips and Chris Maclean, c. 1986
Other images and text: Bruce Ringer, 2015

How to cite this page

'Tolaga Bay war memorial', URL: https://nzhistory.govt.nz/media/photo/tolaga-bay-war-memorial, (Ministry for Culture and Heritage), updated 17-Apr-2020

Community contributions

2 comments have been posted about Tolaga Bay war memorial

What do you know?

Dudley Meadows

Posted: 25 Mar 2015

Does anyone know when these gates were built/opened?

Haare Tukariri aka Harry Matthews

Posted: 12 May 2014

As children in the late 40's and early 50's we all went to the Dawn Parade, following the returned soldiers led by the Pipe Band to the War Memorial. After paying their respects everyone went to the Reynolds Hall for a mug of tea. We children were hoping to hear re-enactments of some heroic deed, but all the soldiers talked about were the happy times they had. The dark days were never recalled, a testament to what they endured. They were all brave men, with the increase in numbers attending these days it shows they will never be forgotten.