FOR Garry Snowden, it is \u201conly right\u201d that the community take time on Mother\u2019s Day to reflect and remember the many women who experienced deep sadness as a result of their children going to war.<\/p>\n
Although a formal commemorative service can\u2019t be held this Sunday due to COVID-19 restrictions, the Arch of Victory \u2013 Avenue of Honour Committee president encourages Ballarat to make a visit to the Garden of the Grieving mother, adjacent to the Arch in Alfredton.<\/p>\n
\u201cSince its opening in February, 2016, the garden has been a focal point for commemoration on Mother\u2019s Day,\u201d Mr Snowden said.<\/p>\n
\u201cEach year since the Governor General unveiled the statue, the number of floral tributes left there…has grown.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt seems more and more Ballarat families are remembering mothers, grandmothers and great aunts who experienced the anxiety and grief associated with sons and daughters serving our country in times of conflict.\u201d<\/p>\n
From the Ballarat district, 759 people were killed in World War One including 50 sets of brothers. Humffray Street\u2019s Samuel and William Sells both died at Lone Pine on the one day, and the last three weeks of the conflict took the lives of Lawrence and Robert Tait.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe grief experienced by their mothers, Elizabeth Sells and Anne Tait, is remembered on Mother\u2019s Day and is reflected in the words on the base of the statue,\u201d Mr Snowden Said.<\/p>\n