Police Remembrance Day to honour Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming in Nelson

A national service will be held at the Royal NZ Police College in Porirua, where rolls of names will be read to honour staff who have been slain or died as a result of their duties, as well as serving, retired and former police staff who have passed away in the past 12 months.

Police will pay tribute to colleagues in Australia and the Pacific who have been killed by criminal acts while performing duties.

NZ police will also be recognising the service of Constable Matthew Hunt, who was gunned down on a West Auckland street in June 2020.

Constable Matthew Hunt was killed in a June 2020 shooting.

Hunt’s plaque now includes his NZ Bravery Decoration, which was awarded posthumously to him in December 2024.

Contable Matthew Hunt’s plaque on the Memorial Wall during the Police Remembrance Day ceremony at the Royal NZ Police College in Porirua in 2020. Photo / Mark Mitchell

The national service will also pay tribute to police in Australia and the Pacific who have been killed by criminal acts while performing their official duties or died as a result of their duties.

Acting Deputy Commissioner Jill Rogers will attend the national service, with Associate Minister of Police Casey Costello.

Wreaths will be laid at the NZ Police Memorial Wall and recruits will perform a haka to honour those being remembered.

Recruits performing their haka before the Memorial Wall during the Police Remembrance Day ceremony at the Royal NZ Police College in Porirua. Photo / Mark Mitchell

The national Remembrance Day service will be livestreamed on the police website, the NZ Police Facebook page and the NZ Police Museum Facebook page from 11am on September 29.

The livestream will be recorded and will remain available on the Facebook pages and website for viewing after the service.

On Police Remembrance Day, police staff throughout NZ wear the huia pin, which was developed by the Police Association and the NZ Police.

The tail plumage of the huia bird, now lost to us, is something rare and special and to wear it is considered by Māori to be a great honour.

By incorporating the police chevron into the huia tail feather, the design of the pin symbolises the honouring of someone special, now lost to police.