Piopio College head girl Marian Robata with Aria principal Pam Voyce.
Piopio mid-morning Anzac Day service saw around 100 people gathered around the town cenotaph as the pipe band arrived. Co-organiser Jenny Brodie was heartened to see the usual strong crowd, given the school holiday timing. “It’s wonderful that people are still turning up, and that Anzac day remains meaningful to them.” Piopio head girl Marian Robata was one speaker, alongside representatives of the Air Force and the newly launched Piopio RSA branch. She is a Year 13 student whose family is from Kiribati. Three years ago she moved to Piopio with her parents: her dad wanted to try out farming – and took up a dairying job with the Anselmi family. It was a “big difference, definitely culture shock” to come from Hamilton to Piopio, but a good one – she quickly made friends and found support. “There were such strong bonds between people in the community,” she recalled. In her speech, she spoke of how Australian and NZ soldiers “put themselves onto a world stage, and forged for their countries a national identity.” She told The News she appreciated what she learned while writing it. “I didn’t really know anything about the deeper history of Anzac, so I got to learn a lot while I was doing my speeh. I got to research more. Her own relatives in Kiribati went through the Second World War. “My island was invaded by the Japanese, so many of my family and older generations experienced that. They passed down a lot of stories and memories. Our great grandparents later shared their stories with us face to face. “There was a lot they had to face. It’s a small island without a lot of resources. The people lived off coconut and fish, so there wasn’t a lot to go around. They were strong to go through that,” she said.
