Tauranga Girls' College Year 13 student, Fu Man (Amanda) Yang, has won (first equal) a national competition with her entry commemorating the Battle of Passchendaele. The battle which happened one hundred years ago in October 1917 is said to be ‘Our Darkest Day' in NZ's history.
Amanda wins a place as a Youth Ambassador for New Zealand, visiting the site in Belgium in October, for the Battle of Passchendaele centenary, with the New Zealand Defence Force contingent.
The Youth Ambassador programme is an initiative of the Minister of Veterans to ensure the enduring legacy of New Zealand veterans is carried into the future. The programme involves the current generation of young New Zealanders sharing their stories and experiences of remembering New Zealand's service in war and conflict.
Amanda submitted a poem titled Passchendaele 12 October 1917. The judging panel said that Amanda's entry was ‘compelling, thought-provoking and highly emotive.'
Tauranga Girls' College has had a focus over the past years on the centenary of the Great War, with a school history trip in April 2016 to Europe which included the WW1 battle sites in the Passchendaele and Somme areas.
Amanda's prize is an all-expenses paid three week trip, and $2000 cash.
Amanda Yang's poem:
Passchendaele 12 October 1917
12 October 1917
5:25am opening barrage began
Second New Zealand infantry brigade and third New Zealand rifles
Walked on
Walked on
Mud and rain and pain
That dragged them every centimetre marched
Much closer to the grave
Cloaked by blinding gas
Suffocated
Drained
No respite
No energy left to fight
And still...
The enemy rattled through belt after belt while the New Zealanders fell by the score1
They fell on Gravenstafel road tangled in wire
No call to retire
They fought on
On 12 October 1917
3:00pm another push
This time halted
and the dying slowed
846 sons of New Zealand mothers fell
That darkest day before the dimming of the light
In the dawn eight kilometres gained
At the cost of 846
106 men and boys for every one kilometre won
But what a loss
Of New Zealand sons and lovers, men and boys
...
12 October 2017
We will remember them
They who were young, straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.2
The sons of NZ mothers, the lovers, the brothers, the men and boys from Aotearoa
We will gather in the half light at the dawning of the day
In a foreign field
Where row on row on row the poppies grow3
Like a korowai bestowed by Papatuanuku
To cover up our men
To protect them from their foes
A foe who too lies
in a country that is not their own
A generation that will never return to their home
On this day
12 October 2017
We stand beside them as we could not do in battle
Our men, our boys from Aotearoa
Haere rā e tama Haere rā. Haria rā te aroha i ahau Aue! me tangi noa Ahau ki muri nei Te iwi e He ngākau tangi noa.4
We their people weep again
In Passchendaele 100 years today
- Harper, G, ‘Dark Journey' 2007, p.57
- Binyon, L ‘For the Fallen'
- McCrae, John ‘In Flanders Field'
- In 1918, Paraire Tomoana composed this tangi to Maori solders lost in battle during World War 1. This stanza translates as
Farewell young man, Farewell. Take my love with you Alas! There is weeping inside of me, left behind here and inside of the people Weeping in our hearts.
2 comments
Passchendaele competiton winner
Posted on 23-06-2017 18:16 | By peter pan
Great piece of poetry and hope you have a great time.
Well done Amanda .Well done.
Posted on 24-06-2017 13:25 | By Active
What a inspirational talented young Kiwi Girl.
Leave a Comment
You must be logged in to make a comment.