New Zealand Travel: April events to celebrate and commemorate

Thomas Bywater lines up April events to celebrate and commemorate around NZ

April is the month that gave us Anzacs.

Marking the Gallipoli Landings on April 25, 1915, and the return of the Māori Pioneer Battalion in 1919, the commemoration of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps is a bit of shared history with our Aussie whānau that is observed every year.

One hundred years ago saw the appearance of another Anzac tradition on the lapels of those attending dawn services.

1922 saw the first New Zealand poppy appeal. This was inspired by Madame Guerin, who sold red fabric flowers to support French widows and orphans left destitute by World War II.

It was suggested that New Zealand Returned Soldiers' Association could do similar, selling silk poppies.

Poppy Places: The NZRSA has been mapping New Zealand's places with Anzac connections. Photo / Supplied, Hastings District Council

The past five years and the World War I centenary have seen a new tradition bloom. You might have noticed street signs with red poppies popping up around the country. The RSA started a database for New Zealand place names with links to returned soldiers and historic battles.

There are now more than a hundred "poppy places" across the country, with room to nominate and mark more. They can be found and researched via the the NZRSA website

poppyplaces.nz

.

A birthday tipple of Spruce Ale

April is also the birthday of another time-honoured Kiwi tradition: home brew.

Practically the first thing that Captain James Cook did on his second visit to the country was try to concoct a beer from local flora in Fiordland's Dusky Sound. On April 1 1773 the sailor wrote about "Spruce Ale". Not having a name for Rimu, Cook describes using "spruce" tree sap and fermented molasses to create improvised beer.

His diary describes it as a "really pleasant, refreshing, and healthy drink" which "bubbled and tasted rather like champagne". With few vegetables on the menu, he claimed it was brewed to stop his crew developing scurvy.

Both Auckland's Lion Breweries and Christchurch's Wigram Brewing have given "spruce ale" a go, with mixed results. We'll raise a glass to their efforts.

For centuries, Kiwi brewers have tried to recreate the lost recipe of 'Spruce Ale'. Photo / File

The South Island's first professional theatre company celebrates its 50th year this month.

Christchurch's Court Theatre is the country's largest and second oldest theatre company, behind only Auckland's Mercury and Wellington's Downstage Theatre.

Following the 2011 earthquakes, the troupe carried on performing in several venues, currently across the tracks in The Shed theatre.

However, the end of next year is billed to be the Court's big comeback. A purpose-built theatre will take centre stage on Christchurch's Colombo and Gloucester Streets. For now you can still catch a show at their 300-seat auditorium in Addington.

Another notable travel birthday is the start of Air New Zealand. Depending on who you ask, April marks the 82nd or 57th year of the airline's operations. The flying koru had a subdued celebration in April 2020, when the Covid pandemic cancelled plans to mark 80 years since TEAL (Tasman Empire Airways Limited) first took flight in April 1940. However, it didn't become the national carrier we know as Air NZ until April 1 1965.

For more travel inspiration, go to newzealand.com/nz.

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