THE advertised time for the ANZAC Day service on the foreshore at San Remo was 10.45am but from 10am onwards they started to arrive and well before the appointed hour, the seats were full and there were ranks of people standing behind in an impressive show of support for our most important national day.
By the time master of ceremonies John Methven OAM offered his opening welcome, the nearby children’s playground had fallen silent with well over 500 people in attendance.
“For all members of the public, especially the veterans, it’s a fantastic sight to look out here at our small fishing village and see the turnout we have here today,” said Mr Methven.
He started the event with a warm acknowledgement of the traditional owners, the Bunurong people, also thanking the former owners of the Westernport Hotel, Nick and Mish Say, for assisting with a public address system for a decade of events, and also for offering their venue in the event of wet weather, an accommodation that has been extended by the new owners.
The first speaker was Bass Coast Mayor Cr Rochelle Halstead who described the day as not only an important national occasion across every country town and city in Australia, but also an intensely personal event for those who had served or had close family members who had served in the armed forces.
“We honour those who served and never came home. We honour those who returned, forever changed. We honour the families who carried the burden of war long after the fighting ended,” said Cr Halstead.
“And we acknowledge those still serving today - here and overseas, who carry on the legacy of those who went before them.
“We are free because of their sacrifice. And we are grateful.”
Year 12 captain at Newhaven College, Abby Papas, spoke next continuing the theme of gratitude to our service personnel.
“This day reminds me as a person remote from the horrors of war to be grateful,” said Abby.
“At an age when I’m worrying about my approaching Year 12 exams, they were worrying about plans to go to war.
“We need to recognize that the freedoms we enjoy have been won by the sacrifices made by those who fought to protect our way of life. That’s what the ANZACs fought for.
“It’s easy to picture the ANZACs as a group but each soldier was an individual with their own families and lives whose absence was greatly felt. The pain and sacrifice of war is not just limited to the battlefield, it is acutely felt by those at home as well.
“We gather here today to support each other, to carry on the tradition of ANZAC Day and to reflect on their sacrifice. Lest we forget.”
Other speakers included Year 9 Bass Coast College captains Olivia Louwdijk and Shianne Godena. Squadron Leader (Ret) John Turner read the Remembrance Ode, Peter Buitenhuis did a superb rendition of the Last Post and several community groups and individuals laid wreaths including Maureen Matthews and Marion Brennan for the Phillip Island and San Remo Legacy War Widows, Cr Halstead for the Bass Coast Shire Council, a representative of Bass MP Jordan Crugnale, David Ellison of the Woolamai Beach Surf Lifesaving Club, youngsters Louis and Lilly-Mae from the Newhaven Primary School.
John Methven rounded out the day by thanking the community for a “masterful turnout” and closing with a military joke about an American marine, a British soldier and an Aussie digger… you’ll have to ask him for the punchline.