Fears of all-year Anzac hordes

The owners of the land on which the historic Anzac memorial sits above the Wairarapa village of Tinui have vowed to shut out any influx of uninvited sightseers.

Fears of visitors descending on the Wairarapa settlement all-year-round and looking for access to the hillside cross have been heightened for farmers Kelso and Jane Rushton after the air force voiced a plan to promote the village as an Anzac Day alternative to Gallipoli.

The Anzac Day service at Tinui, held outside the War Memorial Hall in the heart of the village, before visitors are taken up the tree-lined path to the cross, usually attracts between 200 and 300 people.

The air force is sending 70 personnel to Tinui this Saturday, and hopes that one day thousands will go there.

For the past 20 years, the Rushtons, by agreement with villagers and farming neighbours, have allowed visitors to cross their land to the cross on Anzac Day.

Small groups have been granted access to the cross at other times, but only after signing a waiver of liability.

Now, with talk of thousands opting to pay their respects to fallen Anzac warriors at Tinui, rather than at Gallipoli, the Rushtons fear their farming business will be jeopardised.

The cross sits on the top of Mt Maunsell, or Tinui Taipo as it is known locally, on the back boundary of the Rushton property. It replaced one carried up the hill on April 25, 1916. Road access to the farmland is through a shared driveway, owned jointly with a neighbouring farming family.

Mr Rushton said though he was happy for the status quo to continue for access to the cross by special arrangement on Anzac Day, his land was not to become a free ground for huge numbers all-year-round.

Since the air force suggestion was reported, Mr Rushton said he had already fielded calls from overseas visitors wanting to go through the farm to the cross.

"I don't mind on a case-by-case scenario if we are asked personally, but for anyone to turn up without permission, anytime of the year, the answer is no, no and no. The air force have not talked to us about this at all and while the whole of New Zealand has our goodwill in recognising the historical significance of what is on our land, we do not want that goodwill abused."

If the numbers were generated in the future, then it would be up to the Government to buy land to ease access, or an alternative route could be created through a right of way agreement, he said.

Squadron Leader Paul Stockley said the air force wanted to help the settlement attract an annual pilgrimage.

"Tinui is the very first place in the world that held an Anzac Day service, it's a place that can be recognised as such, and if people wish to partake in a service that has a significant historical aspect to it, then Tinui can be an option," he said.

"It's not a replacement for Gallipoli though, because I do believe that would be quite wrong."

The Returned and Services Association welcomes Tinui as a memorial site but would like local smaller services to continue being supported.

- © Fairfax NZ News