The bronze statue was hoisted into place in the early hours of Saturday morning ahead of today’s dedication by Ms Clark and Mr Iemma.

Before being lowered into place, a handful of sand from Gallipoli was placed under the statue by NSW RSL President, Don Rowe and Neville Berridge, Vice President of the New Zealand Sub Branch of the RSL.

The statue now shares pride of place on ANZAC Bridge opposite the Australian Digger statue unveiled in 2000.

“Australian and New Zealand soldiers have fought and died together from Gallipoli to East Timor, so it is highly appropriate that a pair of Aussie and Kiwi diggers now stand guard together on the ramparts of our nation’s largest city”, Mr Iemma said.

Ms Clark and Mr Iemma unveiled the statue at a special ceremony on the deck of ANZAC Bridge, along with the High Commissioner and Consul-General of New Zealand, senior military representatives from Australia and New Zealand, veterans and members of Sydney’s Kiwi ex-pat community.

They were also joined by NSW RSL President Don Rowe, who said he was proud that the idea of the statue had originated with the NSW RSL.

“It’s wonderful to see the two statues facing each other in a permanent gesture of respect and remembrance.

“It is also poignant to note that the Kiwi statue faces east and the Aussie statue faces west, echoing the words of The Ode: ‘at the going down of the sun and in the morning we will remember them’ “, Mr Rowe said.

The bronze statue was crafted by prominent sculptor, Alan Somerville, who also created the Aussie Digger statue in 2000. Mr Somerville was born in New Zealand and holds dual Australian and New Zealand citizenship.

The New Zealand soldier is similar in size, materials and appearance to the Australian Digger soldier, the main visible difference being the distinctive “lemon squeezer” hat used by the New Zealand military. Details of the soldier’s uniform were verified with the Waiouru Army Museum in New Zealand.

Mr Iemma also noted that the NSW Government had commissioned new Australian and New Zealand flags to fly over ANZAC Bridge from today onwards.

The flags are 33 per cent larger than the previous flags to ensure Sydneysiders cannot mistake the symbolic significance of ANZAC Bridge to both sides of the Tasman.