Service to honour region’s mothers

THE annual Mother’s Day service at the Garden of the Grieving Mother, adjacent to the Arch of Victory, will be held this Sunday 11 May at 11am.

Arch of Victory/Avenue of Honour committee president Garry Snowden encouraged the community to reflect on the experiences of mothers and families during conflict.

“With Mother’s Day just a couple of weeks after Anzac Day, it is an ideal time to reflect on what mothers and families at home were experiencing while thousands of sons and daughters were on or near battlefields on the other side of the world,” he said.

“We invite and encourage Ballarat people to attend the short non-military service, after which, without formality, they can lay a floral tribute on the base of the Grieving Mother statue.”

Community members who cannot make the service can leave tributes at the statue throughout the day.

“Ballarat has lost around 1000 men while they were serving our country in two world wars and other conflicts like Korea, Vietnam and Afghanistan,” Mr Snowden said.

“So, on Mother’s Day we will remember the hundreds of Ballarat mothers and families impacted by these losses.

“I hope to see the statue base covered by flowers by the end of the day.”