Last week’s planting of new roses at Te Awamutu’s War Memorial Park came with a message about the fragility of peace and the importance of honouring past and present servicemen and women.
Pictured after the planting ceremony are, from left, Trevor McIlroy, Jan Barnett, Janet Pike, Diana Jones, Els Brown, Linnie Jones, Tiaki Ormsby, and at front, Lorraine Flynn. Photo: Viv Posselt
Three standard Peace roses, flanked by two Lest We Forget standards, were planted at the park’s sunken cross. The ceremony was organised by the Te Awamutu RSA in conjunction with the Te Awamutu Rose Society and Waipā District Council.
The Peace roses were donated by the Rose Society and the Lest We Forget by the council. Rose Society president Diana Jones said initial moves to rejuvenate the park, which was first opened in the 1950s, came three years ago when the society was asked if they could provide new standard Peace roses to replace those that had been there for decades.
Standing by the newly-planted roses are, from left, Te Awamutu Memorial Park Maintenance committee representative Peter Fletcher, council parks operator John Williamson, Te Awamutu Memorial Park Maintenance’s Craig Smart, Te Awamutu RSA’s Daniel van der Hulst, Te Awamutu Rose Society president Diana Jones, and Te Awamutu and Kihikihi Community Board chair Ange Holt. Photo: Viv Posselt
Jones told those attending last week’s ceremony that the three peace roses planted represented the army, navy and airforce.“These new standards are young and healthy … they will probably give us another 70 years,” she said.
Te Awamutu RSA’s Daniel van der Hulst said the sunken cross memorial and the park connected the community to those who served. “The roses planted within the cross form a living memorial and contrast the sombre brass panels of names. The world did not find peace after the second world war ended. There continued to be unrest and conflict that continues to this day. The standard Peace roses planted last week were grown over three years from budwood donated by Janet Pike and nurtured by Jan Barnett of Newstead’s Amore Roses.
The Peace rose was originally bred in France. When the nursery was under threat with the invasion of France by Hitler, three parcels of budwood were smuggled out of the country to the United States in a diplomatic bag. The rose thrived across the Atlantic, and in 1945 when Germany signed its surrender, the 49 delegates who formed the United Nations were each presented with a bloom of the Peace rose.
Jan Barnett, left, and Janet Pike – the two women responsible for bringing the Peace standard roses back to the sunken garden. Photo: Viv Posselt
