Whakaata Māori will be commemorating Anzac Day this year with live and exclusive content throughout the day, from across the motū and around the world.
The themes for this year’s broadcast will be derived from the words of Tā Apirana Ngata from his 1943 treatise on Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa Ngarimu VC, ‘The Price of Citizenship.’
“We are of one house, and if our Pākehā brothers fall, we fall with them.”
— Tā Apirana Ngata, The Price of Citizenship
The full day of Anzac programming will mark Whakaata Māori’s 19th year of coverage.
The team will cross live from C Company Māori Battalion Memorial House in Gisborne, the Dawn Service at Tāmaki Paenga Hira, Auckland War Memorial Museum, and all the way in Gallipoli commemorations in Turkey later in the day.
Veteran broadcaster Julian Wilcox (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Te Arawa) will be joined in Gisborne by military historian Dr Monty Soutar (Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Porou). Peata Melbourne (Ngāi Tūhoe, Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Kahungunu) from Whakaata Māori flagship news programme, Te Ao Mārama will be Whakaata Māori host at the Dawn Service in Auckland.
The Anzac coverage will continue throughout the day with feature documentaries, films and dedicated programming.
What times are these on?
5.40 AM – LIVE: ANZAC 2024: Kia Kotahi Rā! Gisborne and Auckland Dawn Services – For the 19th year, Whakaata Māori presents live coverage of Anzac Day services. This year from the dawn service at the Auckland War Memorial Museum, as well as the service from Gisborne.
8.00 AM - DOCUMENTARY: VAPNIERKA – Vapnierka, a town in Ukraine, is where Pouramua Nihoniho, the only son of Ngāti Porou leader Pakanui Nihoniho, died. Vapnierka is the story of how a family came to terms with the loss of a beloved son by passing on that legacy to a child from the next generation.
9.00 AM - DOCUMENTARY: WHĪTIKI! – The stories of three Māori Pioneers who fought in WWI, through the eyes of their descendants.
10.00 AM - DOCUMENTARY: THE COWBOYS – C COMPANY (MĀORI BATTALION) – We follow the 2014 Te Moananui-a-Kiwa Ngarimu VC hīkoi to the Middle East and tell the big stories of the Company’s exploits in WW2.
11.00 AM - DOCUMENTARY: TE RONGO TOA ANZAC SPECIAL – Anzac Day music special showcasing songs of war presented by Francis Tipene of The Casketeers’ fame.
12.00 PM - FEATURE DOCUMENTARY: REVEALING GALLIPOLI – An award-winning, in-depth look at what happened on Australia’s most revered place of battle. Revealing Gallipoli tells the stories of hardship and survival from several different perspectives.
1.35 PM - DOCUMENTARY: PARADISE SOLDIERS – This documentary reveals the sacrifice, shares the personal stories and celebrates the contribution of the Cook Island soldiers to the New Zealand armed forces from WW1 through Vietnam and to present day.
2.30 PM - LIVE: ANZAC DAY SERVICE FROM GALLIPOLI
3.30 PM - DOCUMENTARY: LAST MAN STANDING – The emotional journey of the last man standing, Sir Robert Gillies, to fulfil his wish that his mokopuna walk in the footsteps of the 28th Māori battalion eighty years on.
3.55 PM - DOCUMENTARY: TAONGA: TREASURES OF OUR PAST - Retells precious Māori stories of romance, betrayal, politics and war. ARAPETA AWATERE - A SOLDIER’S STORY: Arapeta Awatere was a distinguished Māori leader - so why did he spend his last years in Mt Eden Prison, convicted of murder?
4.25 PM - FILM: BREAKER MORANT – Three Australian lieutenants are court-martialled for executing prisoners as a way of deflecting attention from war crimes committed by their superior officers.
6.15 PM - SHORT FILM: KORO’S MEDALS – When Billy loses his grandfather’s precious war medal, getting it back is the least of his worries.
6.30 PM - NEWS: TE AO MĀRAMA – Whakaata Māori flagship news bulletin presented by Peata Melbourne. (Te reo Māori with English subtitles)
7.00 PM - DOCUMENTARY: TE KAIWHAKAAHUA PAKANGA, SHOOTER OF WAR – The heroic and tragic stories behind Major Walter Downs Piiti Wordley’s secret WW2 photos and diary of Māori Battalion life in WW2.
8.00 PM - DOCUMENTARY: STEPHEN FRY: WILLEM AND FRIEDA – DEFYING THE NAZIS – Stephen Fry investigates the inspiring and moving story of a gay man and a lesbian who led anti-Nazi resistance in Holland.
9.25 PM - FEATURE FILM: BALLOON – East Germany, 1979. After initially failing to flee from the East to the West in a self-built hot-air balloon, two families struggle to make a second attempt, while the East German State Police are chasing them.
11.35 PM - NEWS: TE AO MĀRAMA – Whakaata Māori flagship news programme presented by Peata Melbourne.
12.05 AM WHAKAMUTUNGA: CLOSEDOWN