Dawn blessing ceremony at Tomb of the Unknown Warrior site 7.00am, Tuesday 13 May 2003

A dawn blessing ceremony will take place on Tuesday 13 May to mark the beginning of construction work on the site for the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior to which media are invited to attend. The Tomb will be located in front of the National War Memorial in Wellington.

The Tomb of the Unknown Warrior will honour the 27,000 New Zealanders who are buried in foreign lands as a result of service overseas. As the soldier’s name, rank, regiment, race, religion and other details are unknown, he will represent all those lost to their families through war. The official dedication of the Tomb will take place on 11 November, Armistice Day.

The Tomb of the Unknown Warrior Project is co-ordinated by the Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Other government departments involved are: New Zealand Defence Force, Veterans’ Affairs New Zealand, Department of Internal Affairs, Te Puni Kokiri/Ministry of Maori Development, Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. It is supported by the National War Memorial Advisory Council, the New Zealand Historic Places Trust, Royal New Zealand Returned Services’ Association, Te Ati Awa (represented by the Wellington Tenths Trust), and the Wellington City Council.

Images of the Tomb design can be obtained from http://www.mch.govt.nz

© Scoop Media