The broadcast commences with the Dawn Service from the Auckland War Memorial Museum on 25 April from 5.45 AM on Whakaata Māori and MĀORI+.

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Hosting the 18th year of Whakaata Māori ANZAC Day commemorations is the award-winning Peata Melbourne (Ngāi Tūhoe, Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Kahungunu), presenter of flagship Whakaata Māori nightly news bulletin, Te Ao Mārama, and industry veteran Julian Wilcox (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Te Arawa).

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Special programming includes:

Marking the 80th anniversary of the first Māori Victoria Cross recipient Moana-nui-a-Kiwa Ngārimu VC. The highest military honour for bravery in battle.

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Waiata performed and inspired by the tūpuna of popular Aotearoa musicians Theia and Louis Baker.

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The heroic story of Kelso Mason, who flew DC3s for the RAF in WWII as told by his son, David Mason.

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The story of Winiata Tapsell (the great-grandfather of Rotorua Mayor, Tania Tapsell), who served in the Pioneers. Private Tapsell saw action at Gallipoli, and again on the Western Front where his nighttime foraging ultimately resulted in the liberation of Le Quesnoy.

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The story of the ‘Suitcase Under the Bed’. Captain Walter Downs Piiti Wordley was the 28th Māori Battalion’s unofficial photographer and wordsmith. His diary provided an entertaining account of their war. Less well known are the photographs he took of Māori Battalion members, which lay under his bed in a suitcase for 50 years.

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At 2.30 PM Whakaata Māori will cross live to the commemorations in Gallipoli.

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The official ANZAC broadcast will conclude at 8.00 AM, followed by feature documentaries, films and dedicated programming, including a Mura o te Ahi ANZAC special.

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Schedule:

5.45 AM          ANZAC 2023: Auckland Dawn Service

For the 18th year, Whakaata Māori presents live coverage of the dawn parade and service at the Auckland War Memorial Museum.

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8.00 AM          DOCUMENTARY: The Cowboys – C Company (Māori Battalion)

We follow the 2014 Moana-nui-a-kiwa Ngarimu VC hikoi to the Middle East and tell the big stories of the Company’s exploits in WW2.

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8.50 AM          DOCUMENTARY: Te Rongo Toa

ANZAC Day music special showcasing songs of war presented by Francis Tipene of The Casketeers’ fame.

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9.40 AM          DOCUMENTARY: Pixie

The remarkable story of two unknown Māori artists and ‘Blue Smoke’ – the first ever song composed, recorded and released in New Zealand.

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10.40 AM        DOCUMENTARY: Vapnierka

Vapnierka is a town in Ukraine. It's also where Pouramua Nihoniho, the only son of Ngāti Porou leader Pakanui Nihoniho, died. Vapnierka is the story of how a family came to terms with the loss of a beloved son by passing on that legacy to a child from the next generation.

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11.40 AM        FEATURE FILM: Nancy Wake Gestapo’s Most Wanted

The incredible true story of Nancy Wake, the Gestapo’s most wanted woman in WWII. In this first ever docu-drama biopic on Wake, gripping dramatisations are combined with exclusive interviews with her closest friends, confidantes and military historians to bring her legend to life.

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12.50 PM        FEATURE DOCUMENTARY: Revealing Gallipoli

An award-winning, in-depth look at what happened on Australia's most revered place of battle. Revealing Gallipoli tells the stories of hardship and survival from several different perspectives.

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2.30 PM        LIVE CROSS TO GALLIPOLI

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3.30 PM          DOCUMENTARY: CHILDREN OF GALLIPOLI

Descendants of soldiers who fought at Gallipoli – two Turks and two New Zealanders – meet face-to-face at the scene of the battle.

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4.30 PM          DOCUMENTARY: WHITIKI!

The stories of three Māori Pioneers who fought in WWI, through the eyes of their descendants.

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5.30 PM          FEATURE DOCUMENTARY: KIA MATE Ā URUROA

The inspirational story of one of Aotearoa’s most outstanding war heroes, Harding Waipuke Leaf, awarded the Military Cross for bravery, and who fought in both World Wars.

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6.30 PM          NEWS: TE AO MĀRAMA

Whakaata Maori flagship news bulletin presented by Peata Melbourne. (Māori with English language subtitles)

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7.00 PM          PREMIERE: MURA O TE AHI ANZAC SPECIAL

A debate show about having fun with te reo Māori and showcasing our natural Māori humour.

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7.30 PM          DOCUMENTARY SERIES: Aro Nui – The Waiapu RSA

A six-part short feature documentary series. Through a Māori lens, follow six first-person narrated journeys to experience how a Māori world view impacts on the immediate and wider world around them.

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7.50 PM          FEATURE FILM: ANNE FRANK PARALLEL STORIES

Actress Helen Mirren retraces Anne Frank's life through the pages of her diary, and through the lives of five woman who, as young girls, were also deported to concentration camps but escaped the Holocaust.

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9.35 PM          FEATURE FILM: ALONE IN BERLIN

After a Nazi German working class couple loses their son in World War II, they decide to retaliate by secretly leafletting handwritten cards in Berlin denouncing their government.

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11.30 PM        NEWS: TE AO MĀRAMA

Whakaata Māori flagship news programme presented by Peata Melbourne.

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