With passing years, larger crowds - now numbering several hundred - have been attending the official New Zealand Police Remembrance Day commemoration service.

Held at The Royal New Zealand Police College in Porirua, the service honours the New Zealand, Australian and South Pacific police officers, who have been slain on duty. The service also remembers New Zealand Police staff - serving and retired, sworn and non-sworn - who have died in the past year.

Many unaware of ceremony

Yet, unless police members have had the occasion to attend this service, many remain unaware that Police Remembrance Day falls on September 29, the feast day of the Archangel Michael - the patron saint of Police.

Some have no idea that there is an official remembrance day at all.

The Royal NZ Police College and Police Association have been working together on a way to raise the profile of Police Remembrance Day and embed the occasion in the hearts and minds of police members, and in time, the general public.

Chevron-embedded Huia Pin to raise awareness

The Police-chevron embedded Huia feather pin, developed by the joint working party, as a way by which members of police across New Zealand can engage in and feel part of the day.

The pin will raise awareness of Police Remembrance Day, and provides a mechanism by which Police members throughout the districts can honour the memory of their fallen colleagues.

The pin is attached to a card carrying the Maori words:

Huia e! tangata kotahi. He totara kua hinga.

This translates to:

The feather of the Huia, for someone special. One dearly departed.

Police Association President Greg O'Connor said "The pin commemorates those police officers who have been slain while carrying out their duty. They paid the ultimate sacrifice. It also serves as an important reminder of the unique nature of policing - where the nature of the job itself brings with it the risk of death"

The chevron-embedded Huia feather Police Remembrance Day pin: Considered 'tapu' or sacred by Maori, the wearing of the Huia tail feather as ornamentation is considered a great honour. The tail plumage of the Huia bird, now also lost to us, is extremely special. The incorporation of the Police chevron into the Huia tail feather, with the small cut at the top, signifying loss, communicates the honour and loss of someone special to Police.

Plans for next year

After introducing the lapel-pin at this year's Police Remembrance Day service, plans are already underway to make the pin available to all police members next year, in exchange for a gold coin donation.

Donations will be put into the Police Families Charitable Trust - a Trust set up for the families of New Zealand Police who have been slain while carrying out their police duties - and will be applied in accordance with the rules of the Trust.