One of those featured in the Reporoa tribute wall and in the book is Private Henare Reweti who was killed in active service on May 27, 1941, age 29, in Crete. He was the son of Mate Rewi and Kahunte Reweti, of Reporoa.

Anzac Day commemorations in Reporoa will be particularly poignant this year with the public unveiling of a memorial wall of photographs and the release of a book.

By Chris Marshall

A small group of locals who are descendants of settlement farmers in the Reporoa Valley have organised a display of photos of past service people now set up as a permanent fixture in the Reporoa Memorial Hall.

More than 200 photos will be unveiled at the Anzac Day Service on Friday, April 25 and a book launched containing profiles of as many men and women the group could find who settled in Reporoa post-WWI, WWII and the conflicts in Korea and Vietnam.

Alan Wills, one of the project organisers along with Shirley Donelley and Coral Shearer, said the government sponsored settlement of returned servicemen had a marked impact on Reporoa’s development, particularly once problems with ‘bush sickness’ or cobalt deficiency (a wasting disease of stock) were overcome. (Several road names in the area – Alamein, Casino, Anzio and Sangro recall WWII battles.)

“Pre-WWI there were very few people here, a few Ngāti Tahu Ngāti Whaoa people, and then they had a settlement programme post-WWI close to the village that settled about 30 farms there.

“Then of course WWII came along, and the government realised they were going to have a heap of men come back from service looking to pursue farming careers.”

This resulted in the plateau east of the village, the Broadlands area and Mihi to the southwest, being developed in preparation.

“One hundred and seventy families came in over a 10-year period in the ‘50s early ‘60s. And those men and women, and I make the comment in the foreword of the book, really laid the foundation stones for what is now a thriving rural community.”

A visit to Northland’s Matakohe Kauri Museum with its “excellent Anzac exhibition” helped provide inspiration for the group, said Wills, though Donelley “had been wanting to do this for quite some time.”

“We’re second generation and we don’t believe a third generation would do this, they’re too removed… we just felt this story needed to be told.”

Wills’ wife Alison, neither Reporoa born or bred, has by default taken on the huge task of compiling the book.

Once the word was put out, people got enthused about the project, Wills said, but there were still some holes in the record.

“We’ve got 230-240 frames going up on the wall in the hall and there’s another 40-50 that we haven’t found. Whether they will ever be found I’m not sure, because some families didn’t stay long and after 60-70 years everyone’s moved on to a fair extent.”

There are stories of POWs who lost five years of their lives locked up in prison camps, and recounts about the servicemen coming home.

“But the other story is the sacrifice and contribution that our local Ngāti Tahu Ngāti Whaoa made to WWII. From not a big population base they lost six men overseas with the 28th Maori Battalion… and we are making a point of telling that story. That will be a bit of a reveal to a lot of the people in the valley these days.”

The 500-600 expected at the service and unveiling mean people will need to spread out a bit, said Wills – to a light lunch being served at Reporoa College and a rugby game at the Reporoa Rugby Club.

“We’ll be emphasising the need for our visitors who have travelled from parts of New Zealand and Australia to have first crack at viewing of the photographs. But a trip around the valley if they haven’t been back for 60-70 years will provide a minimum of interest right through to blow them away as to where the valley is now.

“We’ve got quite a big day on our hands. All we need now is a spell of good weather, we have everything in place.”

For the last 15 years the Anzac Service in Reporoa has been run by the Reporoa Lions Club, due to the local Returned Servicemen’s Association folding.