Soldiers still parade after 50 years

When work started in 1949 about 30 former soldiers worked to clear the rugged hillside. Now, on the Sunday of each week (or Monday, depending on the weather), about a dozen men turn out to work on the memorial - and have a yarn about the war years.

Frank says the men are all octogenarians "and range between adolescence or just obsolescence". But the dedication and long service impressed mayor Garry Moore when he visited the memorial in December.

He was humbled by the silent contribution the men had made to peace and said the hidden story "of your big sacrifice needs to be told. I thank you and applaud your work".

The memorial is multi-layered as it stretches up a slope from the park road. A stone seat is beside the road and "about 80 paces" above it is a black Italian granite plaque set into a huge piece of Hanmer marble. A plane table has inset plaques that tell the story of the site and the history of the unit's war exploits.

Olive and cypress trees, full of symbolism, dot the area. They stand as sentinels to their fallen comrades.
Fruiting chestnuts represent the four squadrons of the regiment and four groups of trees are from Greece, North Africa, Crete, and Italy where the battalion fought in World War Two. Killed or died on active service totalled 227 and 921 men were wounded or taken prisoner of war.

Four other plots of New Zealand natives represent the unit's survivors.

Frank Harvey has been working on the memorial since it began. He handed over a $7000 cheque to the mayor for continued maintenance of the memorial. Garry Moore promptly handed the cheque to Craig Oliver, the Council parks manager.
That was a special gesture for Craig Oliver as his uncle, Bill Oliver, fought with the 19th.

The ageing men have not finished their memorial. On 12 March they intend to open a picnic table on the site and have the New Zealand Army Band entertain guests.