Broken Hill Anzac Day attendees were greeted by the perfect desert dawn on Tuesday to mark the morning in 1916 when the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps landed on the beach of Gallipoli in what was to be an eight-month battle where over 8000 Australian soldiers lost their lives.
Soldiers serving in subsequent wars have become the guardians of the spirit of the Anzacs and are now also commemorated by their communities for the freedom we experience today.
The sombre 6am march of around 80 men and women along Argent St from the RSL to the Cenotaph was led by a police car with lights on, several decorated formerly and currently serving military men, followed by civilians wearing the medals of their beloved ancestors to the solemn beat of a drum.
The morning march was made even more moving as they approached hundreds of people who had gathered to welcome their arrival at the Cenotaph, much to the delight of organisers.
Following the dawn service, RSL President Des Kennedy said, “the crowd was absolutely amazing. This is almost as much as you get in the daytime service.
“The public of Broken Hill have really done all the Anzacs proud, and that’s what it’s about. We’re all friends of Anzacs. We all have family who have either served or been involved somehow, and we honour those who can’t come back, who’ll never come back, but they served our country great.”
An honouring of the veterans was held at the Civic Centre on Monday evening where veterans and their relatives mingled with MP Mark Coulton, Mayor Tom Kennedy and councillors aswell as RSL and Legacy members as guests gathered for a chat over drinks before the big day.
One of the last four Broken Hill Legacy Widows, Beryl Broomhall, told the Truth, “now that our club has declined down to four of us ladies, we have help with the Garden of Remembrance at the cemetery because we’re all getting too old – I’m 94. We can get down but we can’t get up these days,” she laughed.
And given the times we live in, Mrs Broomhall poignantly added, “I just hope there’s never another world war. You think of your grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and you don’t want them to go through any of that.”
