How Golden Plains is commemorating Anzac Day

TRADITIONS around the Golden Plains Shire will be continuing this Anzac Day, with social distancing regulations in mind.

Memorials will be visited, wreaths will be laid, and the Last Post will still be played, but the public is urged to practice their own private services at home.

To ensure that the local ceremonies are honoured, president of the Inverleigh RSL Malcolm Johns will still be visiting four monuments across the shire.

Mr Johns said he will be heading to sites in Inverleigh, Bannockburn, Shelford and Teesdale and performing a one-man remembrance service at each site.

“I’ve been president of the Inverleigh RSL since 1988, so it’s been my responsibility over the years to run the services at each monument,” he said.

“Normally we have a lot of people gather at each site, like fellow RSL members and locals from the community, but this year we have to do things a bit differently,”

“I’ll be heading to each site alone on behalf of the RSL to ensure that our traditions are kept alive during these times.”

Recognising the difficulties of social distancing, Mr Johns encourages families to still take part in the ceremony from their homes.

“It’s a shame that nobody will be able to visit the monuments themselves during the dawn service, but you can still take part in the service from your driveway, porch or balcony,” he said.

“We could also start some new traditions this year, like people laying wreaths and poppies on their front doors.”

The combined dawn service will begin at 6am, with families encouraged to light a candle and display it during the service.

For people in the north of the Shire, Ballarat radio station 3BA, 102.3FM, will be broadcasting a dawn service from 6am.

Ballarat RSL president, Alan Douglass said his group has been determined to coordinate a 6am event of some form, with the help of contemporary broadcasting.

“Brett Macdonald from 3BA will MC the service, the mayor will be in attendance giving a talk, I will be saying The Ode, Bishop Garry Weatherill will say a prayer, and bugler Tamara Barrett will play The Last Post,” he said

“There will be one minute’s silence, The Rouse, I’ll say ‘lest we forget,’ before the first part of the national anthem.

3BA general manager, John Fitzgibbon said any opportunity for connectedness is important during the current “crisis.”

“Anzac Day is one of those hugely important moments. This means a lot for the team here to be able to mark this day with a local dawn service,” he said

As RSL members have been unable to get out and sell traditional poppies this year, the state branch is asking residents to donate to their largest annual veterans’ support fundraiser, the Anzac Appeal, via anzacappeal.com.au, as their team of volunteers will not be on the streets this year.