HOMECOMING - TE HOKINGA MAI (2018) David Hamilton
for alto solo, SSATB choir and chamber orchestra
(accompaniment also available for piano (with optional snare drum))
The Tomb of the Unknown Warrior is a symbol of remembrance for
all New Zealanders who did not make the journey home after serving
their country overseas. Nearly 30,000 New Zealand military personnel
have died during wartime, and almost one third have no known grave.
On the second anniversary of Armistice Day, 11 November
1920, the remains of an unknown soldier were re-interred in
Westminster Abbey as a memorial to members of the British
Empire who died during the First World War. A year later in
New Zealand, William Jennings, the member of Parliament for
Waitomo, asked Prime Minister William Massey whether Cabinet
would consider ‘the advisability of bringing [home] the remains,
preferably from Gallipoli, of one of our unknown boys.’ After some
deliberation, Cabinet decided not to proceed.
The idea resurfaced again after the Second World War, and again
in 1999. This time it gained the support of the government and
in 2002 agreement was reached with the Commonwealth War
Graves Commission to repatriate the remains of a New Zealand
soldier killed in the First World War. It was decided that the
National War Memorial was the most appropriate place for the
tomb, and that the tomb should be outside, rather than within the
Hall of Memories, to allow the greatest public access.
(Source: Ministry of Culture and Heritage https://mch.govt.nz/pukeahu/park/
national-war-memorial/tomb)
Vincent O’Sullivan’s poem “Homecoming - Te Hokinga Mai” was
commissioned by the New Zealand Ministry of Culture and Heritage
to mark the dedication of the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior in
Wellington on 11 November 2004. It has subsequently been used at
ANZAC Day services.
6