By Callum Ludwig
Wandin’s morning Anzac Day service commenced at 8.30am at the Wandin Cenotaph, with plenty of locals gathering to pay their respects to those who’ve served Australia.
Attendees were generously allowed to gather on the property of Alicia and Ryan Crosby which adjoins the cenotaph, with Wandin Rotarian and former serviceman Brian Hodgson leading the event.
Mr Hodgson said attendees have no idea how much pleasure it gives the rotary club to see so many people here joining them to celebrate Anzac Day.
“Anzac Day celebrates the emergence of Australia as a fighting nation and it recognises the sacrifice made by many since then to secure the freedom we all enjoy today,” he said.
“Our rotary club is proud to be associated with this service, Rotary has long been associated with the quest for freedom, and that’s illustrated by involvement with the formation of the United Nations.”
Incumbent Casey MP Aaron Violi and Evelyn MP Bridget Vallence attended the service and were invited to give addresses.
Mr Violi said we gather here today not to glorify war, but to make sure we pay tribute to those that gave the ultimate sacrifice, and also acknowledging that while it is now a day where we pay tribute to all veterans.
“Many families, including my own, have a history with war, including my grandfather serving in World War Two, and there are many that have paid that sacrifice, whether physically or mentally, that we pay tribute to and the family pay that sacrifice as well,” he said.
“When I think of Wandin and this community, and I look at this cenotaph and I see names; five Hunter names on this cenotaph, two Clegg names that left Wandin many years ago, to go the other side of the world,”
“They rightly could have said no, they could have said ‘Wandin is my home, a conflict on the other side of the world does not impact what’s happening here today’, but they knew they had a duty and an obligation to serve our country so that we could continue to enjoy the freedoms that we have today.”
Ms Vallence was next and said she was going to talk about some of the anniversaries of wars and conflicts that we mark this year.
“Today marks the 110th anniversary of the Anzac landing on the Gallipoli peninsula… of those 16,000 men who landed during that first day, Australians and New Zealanders, more than 2000 were killed or injured by the very next morning…tragically, it exacted an enormous human cost with over 8000 Australians paying the ultimate sacrifice at Gallipoli,” she said.
“This year marks the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and almost a million Australians, both men and women, served in the Second World War… the Second World War again saw Australians suffer significant losses, with 39,000 Australians never coming home,”
“Another important anniversary we mark this year is the 75th anniversary of the Malayan Emergency and the Korean War, around 7000 Australian personnel served in Malaya during the conflict and to this day and it actually remains Australia’s longest continuous military commitment to the 20th century.”
39 Australians died in the Malayan Emergency and 339 Australians died during the Korean War.
Wreaths were liad by various community groups and members at the cenotaph before Ruby and Amber from Wandin Yallock Primary School and Lewis, Kaylee, Ryan and Matilda from Wandin North Primary School were invited to present some readings and poems, speaking confidently and clearly.
Peter Paterson from the Mt Evelyn RSL was invited to recite the ANZAC requiem, followed by The Last Post which was played by bugler Meg Benger.
The flags were raised by more Wandin Yallock Primary School students before the Lords Prayer and Australian national anthem to close the service, with attendees welcomed to morning tea courtesy of the Wandin Seville Uniting Church across the road.
