St George's Anglican Church at Gate Pā will be unveiling a peace pole at 11.30am on Saturday, October 15.

'The idea of peace poles was thought up by Masahisa Goi in 1955 in Japan,” says historian Cliff Simons. 'Since then, more than 200,000 have been placed around the world in close to 200 countries.”

Cliff says there are several peace poles in Tauranga.

'The pole usually has the message: ‘May Peace Prevail on Earth' in several languages, including the one of the country where the pole has been placed. This message is sometimes called a peace prayer.”

Encouraged by the local Quaker community, St George's decided to place a pole on the church land which is the site of the significant Battle of Gate Pā.

'It will be visible to thousands of people travelling on Cameron Road each day,” says Cliff.

'Some poles are quite plain but St George's commissioned local artist Sam Allen to paint the pole in colourful lettering and designs.”

The four sides of the pole represent the four languages used in worship at St George's - English, Te Reo Māori, Korean and Malayalam – the language used by the Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church.

The pole will be unveiled at a short ceremony at 11.30am on Saturday, October 15, on the corner of Cameron Road and Church Street, Gate Pā.

There will be a shared lunch including food from the Korean and Jacobite Syrian Orthodox congregations afterwards.