The Royal New Zealand Returned and Services Association (RNZRSA) has thanked Turkish firefighters for their efforts after a Türkiye wildfire burned at Canterbury Cemetery on the Gallipoli peninsula.
New Zealand WWI soldiers are buried at the cemetery.
RNZRSA national president Sir Wayne "Buck" Shelford said his thoughts and those of the RNZRSA community are "with the people of Turkey as they battle fires on the Gallipoli Peninsula".
"We are incredibly grateful to the local authorities and the firefighters on the ground who have been doing everything they can to contain the fires, and limit the damage to the sacred sites and monuments around Anzac Cove.
Crews are working to "limit the damage to the sacred sites and monuments around Anzac Cove". (Source: 1News)
"I had the great privilege to attend the Anzac Day ceremonies held at Gallipoli earlier this year, and it was heartbreaking to think of it under threat.
"We will continue to monitor the situation and once the full extent of the damage to the area is known, work out what the next steps will be."
The fire is now under control, the Associated Press reported.
Officials said it was started by a spark from electricity lines that spread through forested areas.
A New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) spokesperson outlined the damaged area, and said there was "no damage to the memorials at Chunuk Bair, including the New Zealand National Memorial", but "some fire damage to the belt of trees and shrubs at the New Zealand Number 2 Outpost cemetery, and to some trees near the northern entry to the Anzac Commemorative Site, where the Dawn Service is held each year".
"The rest of the site is unaffected."
It said MFAT was liaising with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and Türkiye officials and that its thoughts "are with Türkiye as they have been responding to a number of wildfires."
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC), which takes care of the graves, has expressed its "deep concern" over the fires that have scorched "historical areas" of the Gallipoli peninsula.
"Our foremost priority is the safety of those in the region, and we can confirm all our staff were evacuated from the peninsula and are safe," it said in a statement yesterday.
"The CWGC cares for the graves and memorials of Commonwealth casualties of the First World War in more than 30 cemeteries on the Gallipoli Peninsula.
"We understand this news may cause distress, especially to those with personal connections to those commemorated but any damage will be assessed and work to remediate it will be undertaken as soon as it is possible to do so."
It said its thoughts are "with our colleagues, their families and the wider communities affected by the fires, and with those with personal connections to those we commemorate on the Gallipoli Peninsula".
"The CWGC would like to extend our profound thanks to those who are fighting to keep local people and villages safe, and to limit damage to commemorative sites of all nations."
The CWGC said updates will be provided when available.
Thoughts are with those 'looking after our sons'
RNZRSA chair of the Remembrance Committee, Mark Compain, spoke to 1News. His great-grandfather was stationed at Gallipoli in 1915.
Compain, who is also a returned Serviceman and fifth-generation solider, said hE and the RSA's primary concern was for the people of Türkiye "who make their living and look after our sons on the Peninsular - our hearts go out to them particularly and those brave firefighters battling those".
"We would like to extend our thoughts and prayers to them."
Compain and the RSA's official historian, Andrew MacDonald, had been in contact with "a number of agencies," including CWGC, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage and NZ Deaths.
"What we can say broadly is it looks like the old, original ANZAC sector... seems to be okay, but certainly the land north of Russell's Top, towards the August Campaign battlefields... from the photos and the incomplete reports we have received, it seems they have been hit quite hard by the fires."
"The cemeteries and memorials in that area have been damaged, but it looks like its only ground cover damage — the headstones and the memorials themselves are built purposefully from a non-combustible material, and like similar fires, I'm sure they will be bought back."
Despite the "scorched" earth, Compain said the headstones weren't damaged in "any great way".
"What I saw from the damage done in the 1994 fires, [the headstones] were bought back by the Turkish workers for the CWGC back to a pristine condition, so I'm sure they will do the same again for us."
The same area was struck by fires in 1994, which led to the loss of around 4000 hectares.
Compain said a main concern now would be the "inevitable" possibility of the remains of service personnel being unearthed due to the fire.
"We will be seeking assurances that those remains would be respectfully treated and returned."
He said seeing any damage to the area was "heartfelt".
"For me, Gallipoli is a piece of home... Spiritually and emotionally, I feel quite connected."
"I feel a strong emotional attachment, and anything that damages it or disturbs it is very heartfelt. It is a place of great suffering and immense death and destruction, and it had enough of that. I want the ghosts and the spirits of all of those who served and fought there to rest easy."
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