On the 110th anniversary of Anzac Day, Aquinas College head students Monique Faire and Luka Mahy stood at Tauranga’s civic service to express their generation’s gratitude to those who served.
As guest speakers, they paid tribute to the bravery and sacrifice of New Zealand’s veterans and service members, before laying a wreath at the Memorial Park cenotaph in their honour. (Scroll down to read their speech)
Hundreds gathered at the cenotaph for the morning service, which also featured Year 12 student Tegan Holden delivering The Ode in Te Reo Māori.
Lest we forget.
ANZAC Day 2025 Speech by Aquinas Head Students Monique Faire & Luka Mahy
Monique:
Good Morning, Everybody,
On the 100th year anniversary of Anzac Day, primary schools across New Zealand were sent out small white wooden crosses. How many crosses each school received, I couldn’t tell you, but I remember there being enough for the grassy patch outside my classroom window to be fully covered with white. Although seven-year-old me didn’t fully understand the enormity of the loss that occurred on the 25th of April in 1915, I left school that day knowing I owed the names on those crosses a lot, that I owed more than I could ever pay back.
Luka:
Anzac Day commemorates the landing of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps at Gallipoli in 1915 during World War I, but it also represents the values of courage, camaraderie, and resilience that shaped our national identity. Today also serves as a reminder that the bravery, sacrifice, and determination displayed by the ANZACS at Gallipoli aren’t exclusive to them; that there have been countless men and women who have served our country in wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping missions since then. Today is a day to remember and honour them all. But the greatest way to honour their unselfish sacrifice shouldn’t just be in a single day, but instead through leading lives guided by ideals of courage, loyalty, and selflessness.
Monique:
In the face of such whole and complete courage, any attempts at being courageous in our own lives can feel insignificant. Courage, however, wears many different faces. And to understand what Anzac Day means to me, I have to unpack what courage means to me. Growing up, I heard about the courage displayed by my great-grandfather serving in the Navy during WWII. I only recently learned about the courage he had to muster when he returned home, not the same man who left, and now carrying the memories of war. Service in our defence force often requires much more than a physical toll. So sometimes, just existing—just showing up—is an act of bravery. Courage can mean believing in yourself, believing we can always be better, do better, and help more.
Luka:
To me, Anzac Day is a time to pause. It is a day to reflect on the unbelievable sacrifices of those who came before us. It makes me realise how fortunate I am to be living in a country where I’m free to pursue opportunities, speak my mind, and be secure—all because others fought for my right to do so. It’s also a prompt to live in gratitude and repay my community in my own small way. What strikes me is the realisation that many of the soldiers who fought in World War I were around my age, just 17 years old. While I’m thinking about university and my future, they were preparing for war, unsure if they’d ever come back. That’s humbling. That’s real. It puts my own life into perspective and makes me appreciate how much was given up by people so young.
Monique:
As the ode says: “Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.” These words remind us that their sacrifices will never be forgotten. And if we are to truly honour them, it’s by using our freedom not selfishly, but for others. Because while we may not face a battlefield, there are people suffering across the globe—and in our own communities—who need us to live with the same spirit the ANZACS showed: to care, to stand up, to serve.
Luka:
Like Monique, I feel especially connected to Anzac Day through my own family’s history in the New Zealand Defence Force. My great-great uncle served in World War I, and my grandfather was on track to become the youngest lieutenant colonel in New Zealand before becoming sick and leaving the army. Knowing this adds a deeply personal layer to what ANZAC Day means to me. These aren’t just names on a list or stories from a decade ago—they are part of my own bloodline and family history. Their service reminds me that real people made the sacrifices we honour. Real people with dreams, families, and futures—people just like us. It reminds me to carry forward their spirit in the way I live: by being a leader when it’s needed, standing up for others, and appreciating every opportunity I have today because of what they gave up.
Monique:
So today, we honour them. And tomorrow, we carry their spirit forward in how we live. Kei wareware tātou, lest we forget.
