Taranaki student on way to Gallipoli

New Plymouth student Cervantee Wild of Sacred Heart Girls’ College will travel to Gallipoli with the NZ Defence contingent for Anzac Day after winning the national final of The National Bank RSA Cyril Bassett VC Speech Competition.

Cervantee will attend the Dawn Service at Anzac Cove, and will be the official NZ Youth Representative and recite The Ode at the NZ Service at Chunuk Bair.

She won after the eight regional finalists spent the morning delivering their speeches at the National War Memorial in Wellington.

Cervantee paid tribute to her fellow contestants and said it was an “amazing honour” to be a NZ representative at Gallipoli.

The speech competition is a partnership between the RSA and The National Bank, aimed at giving young people a deeper understanding and appreciation of the sacrifices made by those who have served NZ in wars and armed conflicts overseas.

It is also a tribute to Cyril Bassett (1892-1983), VC, who was the only New Zealander at Gallipoli to be awarded the Victoria Cross, and who worked his entire career at The National Bank. Members of his old regiment also attended the final.

RSA National President Don McIver was in awe of the talent and passion of the young finalists and said that Cervantee Wild was outstanding and brought home how connected young people are to our Anzac heritage.

“Reciting the Ode is a privilege I know Cervantee, an impressive young New Zealander, will undertake with humility and as we have seen by her performance here, she will appreciate the significance of being at Gallipoli this Anzac Day.”

Cervantee will also receive an additional $1,000 for travel expenses, a laptop and digital camera to record her experience.

Regional winners of the competition won a National Bank account worth $1000, and youth RSA membership, while their school also received $1000.