A flagpole was erected at the the Ngunguru Sports Complex in the late 1990s as the focus for local Anzac Day ceremonies. In 2004 the site was upgraded by the addition of a concrete apron around the flagpole and a concrete plinth inset with a plaque listing all the conflicts New Zealand had been involved in between the South African War and Vietnam. This was dedicated on 11 December 2004.
In 2012 a committee of veterans, ex-Services personnel and the Tutukaka Coast Lions Club organized the construction of a memorial stone wall behind the flagpole. This was inset with polished black granite tablets listing the area’s servicemen from both world wars. The names came from the existing roll of honour in the Ngunguru War Memorial Hall. There was also a smaller tablet with the words ‘He Wahi Whakamaumahara Mo Te Katoa’ (‘this place of remembrance is for everyone’).
The refurbished memorial was dedicated on 23 February 2013.
Sources: ‘Anzac Plinth Arrives’, Focus: News & Views from the Tutukaka Coast, no. 321, November 2004, p. 25; ‘Ngunguru War Memorial Committee’, Focus, no. 322, December 2004, pp. 7, 24; ‘Big Crowd for War Memorial Opening’, Focus, no. 323, January 2005, pp. 12-13, 23; other information from Ken Friend, pers. comm., 23 December 2014.
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