General News
19 April, 2024
Honouring those who have fallen
RESIDENTS across the district will pause to reflect on those who served Australia in conflict next week at various Anzac Day services.
Camperdown will hold a Dawn Service at 6am at the Soldiers Memorial in Manifold Street, which will be followed by a gunfire breakfast at the RSL Hall at 14 Pike Street.
The annual Anzac Day march will be held along Little Manifold Street from 10am, with participants asked to gather on the corner of Pike and Little Manifold Street at 9.45am.
Camperdown RSL sub-branch president Kevin Murray said a slight change has been made to how the march is conducted this year.
“In the past, it has been difficult to get the tail end of the people marching to march past the Soldiers Memorial,” he said.
“Quite often, if we halt the front of the march, then the back of the march is still half way down the street.
“What we’re going to do is march down towards the Soldiers Memorial, then we’re going to turn left on Little Cressy Street and keep marching until the end of the march has got to the Soldiers Memorial, then we shall halt.”
Following the march will be the traditional Anzac Day service at the Soldiers Memorial, which will start at 10.15am.
The service will include a speech from guest speaker Captain Charlie Wright, an army reserves captain from Warrnambool.
Mr Murray said there are two significant anniversaries to be marked at this year’s service.
“I will talk a bit about the 25th anniversary of the problems that arose in Timor in 1999,” he said.
“That was truly significant because, for a long time, the Australian Defence Force had become a peace time force.
“There hadn’t been any operational focus since the Vietnam War. Suddenly, in 1999, they put that referendum to the Timorese people to break away from Indonesia and become an independent nation.
“It caused all sorts of conflicts in Timor, it was quite horrific.”
Mr Murray said the other anniversary is 80 years since the first females were deployed overseas in operational capacity, a milestone often forgotten.
“Previously, it was only ever nursing assistants, it was only ever medical corps people,” he said.
“In 1944, the first female members of the army, navy and air force were deployed.
“If I consider my own deployment to the Middle East in 2010, a very high percentage of that force were female and it’s just a given now.
“You just anticipate you’re going to deploy both male and female irrespective – whoever’s best to do the job goes and does the job.”
Mr Murray said the attitude held today was not the case 80 years ago, showing how far the defence force has come.
“The women stepped up in home-front support roles and proved they could do anything,” he said.
“They were the ones building airplanes and fixing engines and doing all that sort of stuff, which was absolutely unheard of.
“It took decades and decades before they really looked at women as being possibly part of a combat corps.
“Times have changed, and so they should.”
Mr Murray said Camperdown’s RSL sub-branch only has two female service members, something he wants to see change,
“It’s difficult to know because I don’t know if we’ve got any more ladies out there who have been in the army, navy or air force unless they identify themselves,” he said.
Refreshments will be served at the RSL Hall following the Camperdown service.
Derrinallum and Lismore will also be holding their shared service at Derrinallum’s cenotaph this year.
Residents will assemble at the cenotaph at 10.30am for a 10.45am start, with refreshments offered at the history rooms across the road on Main Street after the service.
Derrinallum RSL’s new president Charlene Knight will speak at the service.
Mr Murray said he wanted to remind the community Anzac Day services are not about the wars themselves, but the Australians who served.
“There are still some people in society who think that we’re glorifying war by conducting an Anzac Day march or a Dawn Service,” he said.
“That is absolutely not the case; what we are glorifying is the people.
“The people who were willing to risk their lives, and, in many cases, lost their lives. It’s the men and women that we are remembering.”
Mr Murray encouraged residents to reflect on the true meaning of Anzac Day.
“We are not trying to glorify conflict in any way shape or form because it is horrendous and shouldn’t happen,” he said.
“But it does happen, and, when it happens, we expect young men and women to stick their hands up.
“And they do, and they always have done.
“It’s the Australian way.”