Sunday 10 April 2016

The names on the Kaiparoro bridge (2)

The fourth name under 1914-1918 on the memorial plaque (and top left on the outside) is that of D.K. Pallant.

Donald Kelway Pallant  was born on 4 April 1892 to Arthur and Margaret Pallant of Eketahuna. He studied at Victoria University College and was appointed sole teacher at Marima school near Pahiatua in July 1913. He enlisted on 13 August 1914 with the Wellington Infantry Battalion. Donald Pallant was reported missing on 8 May 1915, aged 23. A Board of Enquiry in January 1916 decided he was “now believed to be dead”. He is buried in an unknown grave in Gallipoli, Turkey, and his name is on the  Twelve Tree Copse (New Zealand) Memorial, Twelve Tree Copse Cemetery. 

This is Donald Pallant's entry on Auckland War Memorial Museum's Online cenotaph database, with this handsome photograph. 


Portrait, Auckland Weekly News 1915 - No known copyright restrictions

I followed Donald Pallant's life from training to teaching to war on Papers Past, firstly in the Wairarapa Age of 9 July 1912


The Wairarapa Daily Times of 3 July 1913 reported that "Mr Donald Pallant, of Kakariki, has been appointed sole teacher at the Marima School."

On 28 June 1915, the Otago Daily Times reported that he was missing: 


And his name was read out at a memorial service in August 1917 in honour of the Victoria University College men who had fallen in the war.

Article image

Donald Pallant was the nephew of Alfred Falkner who designed the Kaiparoro bridge. 





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