Te Maumaharatanga (The Memorial) Jersey

Canterbury of New Zealand and the Vodafone Warriors Show ANZAC Pride with Commemorative Jersey 

A Field of Remembrance white cross with poppy and fern is featured on the jersey and shorts.   Warrior Ryan Hoffman

Canterbury of New Zealand and the Vodafone Warriors are proud to announce the release of their stunning commemorative jersey. Te Maumaharatanga is the name specially chosen for the ANZAC jersey, literally meaning ‘The Memorial’. The jersey was designed by Dave Burke with guidance from kaumatua and cultural advisor Luke Crawford. The jersey is centred on four figures who represent the four components of our military service, standing at the base of a monument featuring the words to the ‘Ode of Remembrance’.  Behind them the New Zealand and Australian flags proudly face the monument, symbolising and acknowledging our unique history as both brothers-in-arms and as fierce rivals out on the sports field. The warrior-like symbol of the mangopare (hammerhead shark) that features within the monument holds special meaning to our armed forces, representing courage, tenacity and determination, and pays respect to the Māori Battalion. Both the kiwi and kangaroo feature prominently within the unique design, representing the eternal brotherhood and spirit of the ANZAC.  Below, fields of green filled with poppies represent the Fields of Remembrance for the ANZACs who have fallen overseas; behind this poignant acknowledgement lays our mountains and our whenua (land) symbolising what they fought for.  Below the four figures is a rocky outcrop representing the unforgiving Gallipoli peninsula with crosses placed amongst the rocks to acknowledge the 44,000 Allies and 87,000 Ottoman soldiers that fell during the eight-month long campaign.  A donation from the sale of each jersey in both New Zealand and Australia will be going to the Fields of Remembrance Trust ($5 for a children’s jersey, $10 for adults), as a mark of respect for our past and current serving armed forces personnel. The 2015 Anzac Commemorative Jersey is available for purchase now through all Canterbury of New Zealand retail stockists and online www.canterburyofnz.com

 

ANZAC - Brothers in Arms

ANZAC Anzac is the acronym for  Australian and New Zealand Army Corps No one knows who came up with the term Anzac but it was used on a rubber stamp: 'ANZAC' and later the corps used it as their telegraph code word.

With the outbreak of war in 1915 Rugby League players were in the forefront of those volunteering:

The roll of honour of sports killed and wounded at the Dardanelles is assuming larger dimensions each time a battle, is fought. It seems to me that, when the history of New Zealand's part in this great war is written, the names of the sporting fraternity of the Dominion will loom large on its pages._{From the Wellington paper: Free Lance, 17 September 1915}
  12/177 Private William  MOEKI,
He came from Gisborne and lived in Grey Lynn, playing for the City Club in Auckland and was killed in action on the 25 April 1915. He was 29.
2/117 Sergeant William Richard BOWDEN  
He lived in Spreydon Christchurch  and played for the Addington Club He was killed in action on Gallipoli 17 May 1915. He was  25.
12/1999 Private George Albert JONES  
He also played for the City Club in Auckland. He was just 20 when he was killed in action at the major Gallipoli Battle Chunuk Bair 8 August 1915.
12/2471 Warrant Officer Class 1 (Regimental Sergeant Major) Charles Bramwell SINTON
From Devonport, he played for the Sunnyside Club and was also killed in action at. Chunuk Bair 8 Aug 1915 age 23.