New Zealand Police Team Leader from the Solomon Islands Police Support Programme (SIPSP), Inspector Warwick McKee, has been spending his free time repairing and repainting the metal and chain fence at the Central Police Station Park in Honiara.
The park contains the New Zealand war memorial, the Japanese war memorial and the memorial to the Regional Assistance Mission Solomon Islands (RAMSI).
Warwick noticed the park was looking a little tired and rundown so over the past five months he’s dedicated a couple of hours each weekend to renovating it. This has included scraping and removing existing paint, repairing and replacing bent and broken posts, and priming and repainting the fence posts and surrounding chain in a crisp white enamel paint.
Little and often - Warwick has dedicated a couple of hours of his own time each week to the park's renovations.
Warwick says the war memorials remind us of the history of war and the men and woman who lost their lives fighting across the Solomon Islands. It also reminds us of all the Police and Military who deployed to the Solomon Islands to assist through RAMSI between 2006-2017.
“Many of our family members from the past fought in the war and have stories to tell about loved ones affected by war. My sister-in-law and my niece are Japanese. My sister-in-law’s grandfather was killed fighting for the Japanese in Papua New Guinea.
“Every New Zealander has a story about family members affected in some way by the war. This park holds important significance to New Zealanders, Australians and the Japanese.
“The renovation shows respect to those we need to remember and will look great during the ANZAC day celebrations in April this year and into the future.”