Bellarine marks ANZAC Day

ANZAC Day on the Bellarine was a muted occasion this year, with much smaller services than usual.

Commemorations in Barwon Heads were cancelled entirely, and services in Ocean Grove, Portarlington, Queenscliff and Drysdale started much later than usual, with priority in the marches given to RSL members and their relatives, as well as retired or serving members of the defence forces.

Ocean Grove was one of the few places to hold an actual dawn service, with the crowd limited to a maximum of 1,000 people at both the dawn and commemorative services, and the march was restricted to veterans and first responders only.

As well as a march that ended at the Drysdale cenotaph, there was also a short service at Mortimer Oval, just before the start of the traditional ANZAC Day BFL match between the Drysdale and Portarlington seniors.