Community
3 May, 2024
Honouring their service
ANZAC Day services in Camperdown and Derrinallum saw large crowds last Thursday, with many residents taking the opportunity to honour the service of Australians despite damp and chilly conditions.
Camperdown RSL sub-branch president Kevin Murray said he was pleased with the turnout for both the dawn service and the morning service.
“I was interested to see with so many people coming out for the dawn service, I thought maybe there would be less people at the march. But that’s not the case - there’s just hundreds of people here, and it’s really, really encouraging,” he said.
“A lot of effort goes into making the event happen, and to see this sort of response from the community just makes it all worthwhile.
“The personal satisfaction for the amount of work that has gone into it, that’s for the sub branch as a whole.
“And we didn’t get wet; I have virtually a clean slate for 10 years it hasn’t rained on me, but it went close. It did rain at the dawn service, and my notes became very soggy; I had great difficulty keeping them in one piece.”
The gunfire breakfast following the dawn service also saw a large crowd, with the RSL Hall running out of food for the breakfast.
Mr Murray said the RSL decided to streamline the service this year.
“We’ve tried to streamline the service so it’s a bit more precise. Don’t want it to go for too long; there’s always elderly people in the audience, and they don’t always get a chair,” he said.
“We’ve got to be a little bit careful that we don’t drag it out too long.
“You can only hold people’s attention for so long, but I think the variety’s pretty good to.
“The kids reading the poems was a good mix.”
Around 150 people attended the Derrinallum Anzac Day service, with Derrinallum RSL president Charlene Knight saying this year’s turnout could have been the biggest turnout for Derrinallum’s service.
“It was amazing. There was a massive turnout from both local schools,” she said.
“I feel really happy; it was really encouraging to see that people are still wanting to turn up.
“It’s nice to see people still turning up and remembering those who have and are still serving. It’s encouraging to see more and more children turning up every year.
“I’m really happy with the attendance and how it went. It gives you hope for the future that those who have served before won’t be forgotten.”
