THE President of the Phillip Island RSL Peter Paul acknowledged it after more than 3000 people turned out at the dawn service on ANZAC Day in Cowes on Friday morning, April 25.
“There wouldn’t be too many better places to commemorate ANZAC Day than this,” he said, indicating the tranquil waters of Western Port Bay that only minutes before had lapped quietly in the silence between the reciting of the Ode of Remembrance, the playing of the Last Post and the communal refrain: “Lest We Forget”.
One hundred and 10 years ago, on the first Anzac Day, April 25, 1915, on another beach 15,000km away, the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) landed at Gallipoli in Turkey. Approximately 16,000 soldiers participated in the landing, and around 2000 were killed or wounded on that day alone in an action which marked the ANZACs' first major action in World War I.
Earlier, Mr Paul had welcomed the community to the event, saying it wasn’t a time to glorify war but a day of reflection and appreciation, honouring those who have served, and especially those who had lost their lives and celebrating the spirit of the ANZACs that was such a part of our heritage today.
A feature of the Cowes commemoration was the role played by students from Newhaven College and the Cowes Primary School, taking the microphone to address the crowd after the names of the fallen, listed on the town’s cenotaph, had been read out.
Co-captain of Newhaven College, Isaac Savona dedicated his address to his great grandfather Stanley Hargreaves who served in World War 1 but according to family folklore, never spoke about his experiences beyond saying that “war is no good for anyone”.
“But we see it in our sporting clubs and our community organisations that the ANZAC spirit isn’t just a story, it’s a living tradition.
“The peach and prosperity we enjoy now was earned by their sacrifice and hardship and it’s something that I promise I will never forget… lest we forget.”
Another speaker from Newhaven College Emily Le Couteur dedicated her address to family member Willaim James Rupert Terry who also saw action in France in the First World war while another co-captain of Newhaven, Grace Howlett, called on the assembled crowd to honour the service of ordinary teenagers like herself who were called on to do extraordinary things.
One such person was a family member of hers, Second Lieutenant Charles Hamilton Jones, who joined the fight on the Western Front as a teenager, surviving the horrors of trench warfare right up until the last week of the conflict.
Nicholas Talevski of the Cowes Primary School joined Phillip Island RSL member Tom Goode in reciting a poem during the service.
Thereafter followed a wreath laying by Phillip Island RSL committee secretary Bob Wood on behalf of the returned services and Cr Ron Bauer on behalf of the Bass Coast Shire Council.
It’s interesting to note that the catafalque party, the guard of honour at the dawn service, was provided for the first time by members of the Phillip Island RSL including Lawrence Buck, Caleb de Kroon, Ameilia Fletcher and Michael Reardon trained by Michael Crump, who has served for many years as a member of armed services catafalque parties.
Members of the Australian Great War Association, the group had four engagements on the day, completing their commitment at Cowes in the mid-morning march before travelling to Oakleigh and Berwick events.
Members of the Wonthaggi 317 ACU Army Cadets also supported the event and Danielle Crestani sang the national anthem.