From before dawn to after noon, from the chill of early winter to the sun of late autumn, the people of Glen Innes came together to remember the people of Glen Innes who left and never came back.
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Just as the ceremony closed, with the final verses of Waltzing Matilda ringing out, the rain came down, too late to dampen a remarkable event.
The day started with the Dawn Service in the cemetery at 5.30 am and continued formally until just after noon in the cenotaph.
The event was overseen and conducted by Gordon Taylor, president of the Glen Innes Returned Services League, Glen Innes sub-branch.
This is the speech he made at the cenotaph:
“We are assembled here to commemorate that immortal day when the young men of Australia, by their deeds and sacrifice, demonstrated to the world at Gallipoli that Australia was truly a nation.
“The sons and daughters of Anzacs came forward without question, accepted gladly, and discharged fully their responsibilities during World War II, Korea, Malaya, Borneo, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, peacekeeping and peace making operations and other conflicts.
“On this day, we remember the sacrifice of such men and women for an ideal, for a way of life. Let us take strength in the knowledge and hope that our sons and daughters will never forget the example of their forefathers. In our everyday life let us endeavour to carry on those traditions established in past wars and conflicts at such tragic cost.
“We think of every man, woman and child who, in those crucial years, died so that the lights of freedom and humanity might continue to shine,. We nurture, too, the obligation of showing gratitude for the peace we enjoy and the responsibility of ensuring that the freedom and liberty so costly won is not lost by our own indifference.
“So let us mourn with pride, but let us also remember with equal pride, those who served and still live.”
