The area around the Wellington War Memorial is being remodelled into a larger memorial park and part of the work involves putting a section on Buckle Street underground. The new underpass has been named the Arras Tunnel in memory of the New Zealand recruits who were tunnelling underneath the town of Arras in France in the first World War. Many lives were lost during the effort at Arras and as part of the memorial symbolic poppies have been placed on the wall of the new tunnel.
The Arras Tunnel opens in a couple of days and is a vehicle only area so a public open day was held to allow the public to walk the length of the tunnel. There were hundreds of people when Keryn, Alayna and I walked the tunnel and there was plenty of interest in the projections within the tunnel showing the work that had been done so far.
The plans for the memorial park look interesting, I think this will be a good space for Wellington and based on what I’ve seen so far a fitting memorial for those who lost their lives in the great wars.
