Kurei Papuni's body was never found at Gallipoli, but the Maori Battalion soldier hasn't been forgotten.
Sixteen-year-old Caitlin Papuni McLellan will pay tribute to her relative who fought and died at Gallipoli when she gives a short speech to the thousands gathered on the peninsula for the dawn service.
Her great-great-great uncle Private Papuni fought in the Maori Contingent and was killed on August 6, 1915, as he headed up the hill to fight for Chunuk Bair.
Standing at the Chunuk Bair memorial site, Caitlin said she had walked up the ridge he walked up and saw where he would have passed away.
"It's really hard, but it's an honour to be able to walk in his footsteps," the Opotiki College head girl told NZ Newswire on Wednesday.
"Although it's pretty sad, it's awesome to know that he's lying in such a beautiful country and that they're so well looked after here."
Caitlin scored the opportunity to speak in front of the 10,000 attendees at Anzac Commemorative Site by winning the nationwide Cyril Bassett VC Speech Competition.
She only found out that her relative had fought about 10 days out from the regional competition, and researched her fallen relative by talking to whanau and following the family tree.
"[In my speech] I talk about his journey and his medallion and his medals that were hanging on the wall of my mum's home and how she never knew about it because no one talked about the taonga. So it's about that journey and unveiling what the taonga mean and who it was for."
When asked how she felt about presenting her speech, she said it had been an emotional journey: "It's all starting to build up and the nerves are there, but it's an honour to be able to present my speech."
Caitlin's parents have flown to Turkey and have been pleading with the government to give them tickets for the event - but Caitlin wasn't willing to comment on her parents' bid to see her speak.
The annual speech competition is in its fifth year, and was established as a tribute to Cyril Bassett, the only New Zealander at Gallipoli to be awarded the Victoria Cross.
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