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A former North Waikato teacher and World War I medic, made famous for his bravery ferrying wounded soldiers to safety on a donkey, was recognised this Armistice Day.
A special ceremony was held on Tuesday, November 11, at Mangatangi School to unveil a plaque commemorating Richard (Dick) Henderson, a former teacher at the school and one of New Zealand’s most admired World War I medics.
Henderson served as a medical orderly at Gallipoli, where he became known for his bravery bringing wounded soldiers to safety on a donkey, an image immortalised in the famous Horace Moore-Jones painting. He later served at the Somme and Passchendaele, earning the Military Cross for his courage under fire.
The new plaque, a scaled-up reproduction of the original Gallipoli photograph, was unveiled by Henderson’s son, Ross Henderson. He spoke of his father’s bravery and years spent as a schoolteacher after the war.
Several other local members of the Mangatangi Historical Group spoke fondly of memories at the school in the 1940s and the “good old times” of riding a pony to school.
The project was supported through the Waikato District Council’s Heritage Fund and marks the final project of the Mangatangi Historical Group, which has made a lasting contribution to preserving the area’s history and is now incorporated into the Mangatangi Maramarua Catchment.
The unveiling coincided with Armistice Day, a fitting occasion to honour one of New Zealand’s wartime heroes and celebrate the restoration of the school’s original 1923 classroom building.
