The First World War memorial gates at the entrance to Uretara Domain, Katikati, bear the date ‘1920’ but were formally unveiled on Anzac Day 1921. One of the pillars has the dedication: THESE GATES / WERE ERECTED / BY THE RESIDENTS OF / KATIKATI / IN GRATEFUL RECOGNITION OF / THE SPLENDID SERVICE / RENDERED IN THE GREAT WAR / BY THE BOYS OF THIS DISTRICT / WHO ANSWERED THE CALL OF / KING AND COUNTRY.
The names of 10 local men who died on active service are listed on the opposite pillar. A printed copy of a ‘Katikati Roll of Honour August, 1914, to August, 1918’ held by the Katikati RSA lists the names of 60 men who served during the war.
A kauri tree was planted just inside the gates on 11 November 1993 to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Armistice Day.
See also: ‘Anzac Day at Katikati: Memorial Gate Opened’, Bay of Plenty Times, 26/4/1921, p. 6; Arthur J. Gray, An Ulster Plantation: The Story of the Kati Kati Settlement, Wellington, 1950, p. 123.
Images: Jock Phillips and Chris Maclean, c. 1986; Allison Hackings, 2013; Bruce Ringer, 2014
Related information: Bruce Ringer