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Witch Hill memorial

Witch Hill memorial

The war memorial on Witch Hill, at the top of Rāpaki Track on the Port Hills above Christchurch.

detail from memorial detail from memorial

Plaques on the front of the memorial. Among the men listed are Wimbledon tennis champion, Anthony Wilding.

detail from memorial detail from memorial

Plaque on the rear of the memorial. Plans to build the memorial developed by Mr A. Anderson were approved by the Summit Road Scenic Reserves Board in October 1917, four months after the Battle of Messines, in which Frederick Andrew Anderson had been killed. See Press report on PapersPast

This memorial was destroyed in the Christchurch earthquakes but has been restored. See photographs, taken in September 2020, below.

Keywords

port hills
witch hill
anthony wilding
Credit

Bryan Bates, 2009 and 2020

Find out more about the people listed on this memorial on Auckland War Memorial Museum's Cenotaph website

See also: biography of Anthony Wilding (DNZB)

How to cite this page

'Witch Hill memorial', URL: https://nzhistory.govt.nz/media/photo/witch-hill-memorial, (Ministry for Culture and Heritage), updated 4-Nov-2020

Community contributions

5 comments have been posted about Witch Hill memorial

What do you know?

Rodney Farrant

Posted: 09 Apr 2019

2017: The Witch Hill Memorial has been fully restored to a high standard.

While it is perhaps NZs’ highest and most remote War Memorial, it receives a steady number of visitors throughout the year.
Formal events have been held there on ANZAC Day and ARMISTICE Day.

A good level of fitness is required for the last ‘indistinct’ part of the route. Be careful on top - dangerous bluffs surround this memorial.

Bryan Bates

Posted: 24 Oct 2018

The memorial shown was later destroyed in the Christchurch earthquakes and the plaques were stolen or lost. When I took the photos I made sure the plaques were readable and therefore based on the photos, can be replaced. I also understand that a new memorial replacing this one is to be built nearby and closer to the Summit Road.

Dave Hegan

Posted: 24 Apr 2018

Will the bronze plaques that were stolen after the EQ ever be replaced?

Lucy

Posted: 15 Mar 2017

The plaques have been stolen so there is no record up there of what it's for or the people it was meant to acknowledge. Rather sad.