Warriors Lay Poppies At Te Papa Gallipoli Exhibition Ahead Of Anzac Day Game

One New Zealand Warriors co-captains James Fisher-Harris and Mitchell Barnett, along with coach Andrew Webster, visited Te Papa today to pay their respects to the Anzac soldiers who fought in World War One.

Each laid a personalised poppy in the iconic exhibition Gallipoli: The Scale of Our War, ahead of Saturday’s sold-out Anzac Day match against the Dolphins in Wellington.

The exhibition was created by Te Papa working closely with Wētā Workshop and has become a must-see attraction in New Zealand.

Te Papa Chief Executive Courtney Johnston looked on as the trio added their poppies to the thousands left by previous visitors.

“It’s an honour to have the Warriors here ahead of Saturday’s game, and to give them an opportunity to acknowledge our Anzac history,” says Courtney Johnston.

“We always see big numbers coming through Gallipoli over Anzac weekend, with many people returning again and again to pay tribute and explore the exhibition’s rich storytelling.”

More than five million people have visited the immersive exhibition since it opened in 2015, with over two million personalised paper poppies left in remembrance.

Many poppies pay a personal tribute to a family member killed in battle, thank the soldiers for their sacrifice, or reflect on the futility of war.

The sold out NRL Anzac Match between the One New Zealand Warriors and the Dolphins will bring thousands of visitors to Wellington this long weekend.

“We expect that lots of those visitors, both from Aotearoa and from Aussie, will come to Te Papa and visit Gallipoli while they are here,” says Courtney Johnston.

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