Anzac Day 2020

With a lockdown in force in Australia due to the outbreak of COVID-19, Anzac Day in 2020 was very different to other Anzac Days held on 25 April during the past 100 years.

In Victoria, the Dawn Service is held each year at the Shrine of Remembrance and is then followed later in the morning by the annual Anzac Day March along St Kilda Road to the Shrine. Another service is then held around 12 noon. Services are also held in other states as well as services held at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra. Later, television viewers can watch the Dawn Service at Gallipoli in Turkey followed by the service at the Australian National Memorial at Villers-Bretonneaux in France.

 Commemorative services are also held at many RSLs throughout the country.

Cancellation of Anzac Day commemorations in Bayswater, Victoria

 In 2020 these commemorations generally were cancelled except for services at the major memorials where attendance was limited to a small number of dignitaries but made available to the general public via radio and television.

This year many household residents arranged their own commemorations, either individually or collectively within a street. The dawn ceremony held at the National War Memorial in Canberra was broadcast beginning at 5.30. The suggestion had been made that household residents might like to listen to the service standing with a candle or torch at the end of their driveway or on a balcony. This allowed social / physical distancing to be maintained but, when a number of people in a street took part, also allowed for community participation. In some cases a local resident played the last post. Many families took part in this activity throughout Australia.

Many residents also made wreaths to display on front gates, from balconies or in windows. Australian flags were also on display in some locations.

Wreath and flag on a neighbour's gate

Anzac Day 2020 was certainly different from those held in the past but the day was still commemorated though in a different way.

Anzac Day 2017 part 2

Yesterday I went for a walk and took photographs of these murals in Bayswater.

The Bayswater RSL located at 620 Mountain Highway now has a brightly coloured mural painted on the wall facing the main road.

In Bayswater itself is a wall on which a mural depicting places and events significant to the history of Bayswater from 1843 to 2009 has been painted. The panels are shown against a backdrop if the mountain, including the towers on top.

One of the panels reminds us that the first Anzac Day commemoration in Bayswater was held in 1920.

Another panel reminds us that the Bayswater RSL has been part of Bayswater since 1952.

Also in the grounds of the Bayswater RSL is a Lone Pine tree which dominates the garden near the Bayswater War Memorial.

 

A search in Monument Australia for Bayswater (Victoria) provides further information about the Lone Pine tree and the Bayswater War Memorial as well as other monuments to be found in Bayswater.

Anzac Day 2017

Nunawading Library again prepared a display for Anzac Day

The display commemorated events involving Australian soldiers that occurred 100 years ago during the First World War and 75 years ago in the Second World War.

Seventy-five years ago war came to Australia with the bombing of Darwin on 19 February, the bombing of Broome on 3 March and submarines in Sydney Harbour 31 May - 1 June 1942.

The First World War battles commemorated include Battle of Passchendaele, Second Battle of Bullecout and Battle of Menin Road in 1917.

One of the windows included a copy of a postcards in the series, Remarkable Women of Whitehorse, prepared for International Women's Day 2017. The postcard provides a brief account of the experiences of nurse, Janet Muir Gaff, during the First World War.

A central panel contains a digger's hat, information about the Diggers Database and an image of the Shrine of Remembrance.

Lest We Forget

Anzac Day 2016 (part 2)

The RSL Sub Branch at Bayswater held their Anzac Day commemoration on Sunday morning 24 April.

As part of the commemoration wreaths were laid and the Knoxfield Girl Guides took part in the ceremony.

Lest we forget

Photographs taken by Rebecca Court

Anzac Day 2016

Part of the Anzac Day display at Nunawading Library in April 2016.

This year we focussed on some of the events in which Australian forces were involved during 1916.

The information in each of the photo frames was taken from the timeline provided in the Discovering Anzacs website.

Lest we forget

Whitehorse Remembers

The Anzac Day display at Nunawading Library this year focuses on some of the memorials to those who served in World War I in what is now the City of Whitehorse.

 In conjunction with the Diggers in Whitehorse and Manningham project one of the librarians, Elaine Craig, took a series of photographs of all the memorials she could locate. A selection of the Whitehorse memorials is included in the display.

In the foyer of the Box Hill Town Hall there is a large honour board listing the names of those from the Shire of Nunawading, as the area was then known, who served during the First World War. The centre panel contains the names of those who did not return.

There are a number of official public memorials in the region including the Box Hill War Memorial, now located in the Box Hill Gardens.

Another war memorial is at Morton Park in Blackburn (pictured centre in the above image). The honour board shown on the left is for the Vermont Volunteers. This board was for many years displayed at the Vermont Mechanics Institute. Schools also remembered former pupils and staff who served. Many of the schools had honour rolls which often included information about the military service of students. Honour boards would also be displayed at schools.

Many organisations including churches and businesses also recognised their members who served. Space for the display was limited however the small selection demonstrates a range of memorials in the region. The display also promotes the library's Diggers database containing the names of those who served as well as Whitehorse Heritage Week to be held 10-17 September.

Tony Robinson's Tour of Duty

Last night I watched the first episode of Tony Robinson's Tour of Duty, the new ten part series produced for the Centenary of Anzac Day and shown on the History Channel. The first one hour episode was filmed at Towoomba and surrounding area. Obviously there is a focus on monuments and stories relating to the First World War but stories relating to service in other wars were also provided.

The stories last night included:
A visit to the 11th Light Horse Darling Downs Troop which is a re-enactment unit established in 2002 commemorating the work of the 11th Light Horse Darling Downs Regiment established in February 1915.

Bill the Bastard, a waler, who carried five soldiers to safety during the Battle of Romani during World War I

The Mothers Memorial which was built from money raised by the women of the town and situated in the centre of the city. In the mid 1980s the memorial was relocated to East Creek Park where it is the focus for remembrance services.

A State War Memorial to Animals has also been proposed for Eastern Creek Park.

Toowoomba and District Aeromodellers who have produced models of World War II planes including the Black Magic, a kitty hawk flown by Len Waters, an aboriginal pilot. There was also an interview with the daughter of Len Waters.

Members of the 25th Infantry Battalion, formed from militia units from Toowoomba and the Darling Downs area, who were sent to defend Milne Bay in Papua New Guinea in 1942. This segment included an interview with a survivor from this campaign.

A soldier from Afghanistan recovering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder with the aid of a  dog named Zeus, part of a program set up to assist the treatment of soldiers with PTSD. After the first and second world wars soldiers many soldiers suffered from what was then called shell shock but is now referred to as PTSD.

Each episode also has a road show segment where people are encouraged to show items relating to the war experience of family members.

All in all this was an interesting episode covering wide ranging topics relating to the experience of war in the community. Future episodes will visit other towns in Australia and New Zealand and should be worth watching.

Anzac Day displays

Organisations throughout Australia, including many public libraries, organised displays to commemorate Anzac Day.

Part of the display at Nunawading Library prepared by staff  to mark the 25th of April. There was also a display of books relating not only to Australia's involvement in World War I but also in other military conflicts.

Anzac Day 2014

Bayswater RSL, Mountain Highway, Bayswater

Wreaths laid at the Dawn Service earlier today

Lest we forget

5000 Poppies

My attempt at knitting poppies

Anzac Day, 25 April, in Australia and New Zealand is a day of commemoration when we remember those from our countries who have been involved in military conflicts - particularly World War I and World War II but also other conflicts.

Next year will be the centenary of the Anzac landings at Gallipoli and many projects are planned to commemorate the centenary. One project is 5000 Poppies: a Community Tribute of Respect and Remembrance.

A post in a new blog appeared in June 2013 announcing the project:
The aim of this project is to create a field of 5000 poppies which will be displayed publicly in Melbourne on ANZAC Day 2015 as a community tribute to commemorate more than a century of service by Australian servicemen and women in all wars, conflicts and peacekeeping operations in which Australians have been involved.

Less than a year later the project has captured the imagination of craft-minded people in Australia and the proposed target is now 20,000 poppies to be displayed in Federation Square, Melbourne, in 2015. Patterns are available for making knitted or crocheted poppies and also in felt and other fabrics. Workshops on making poppies are held from time to time in Federation Square. Throughout the country local communities have been making and displaying poppies to mark Anzac Day. As photos in the 5000 Poppies blog and on other websites show the mass display of crafted poppies make eye-catching displays. New Zealanders are also involved in the project making poppies for displays in their country.