Locals to gather to pay respect this ANZAC Day

ANZAC Day services will take centre stage on the Surf Coast on Tuesday next week as the community gathers to recognise the men and women who served Australia in conflicts, wars and peacekeeping operations.

The annual observances on April 25 will take place at various locations on the Surf Coast including in Torquay, Anglesea and Winchelsea, with locals encouraged to attend a service and pay their respects.

The region’s most attended event will once again take place at the Point Danger War Memorial, where the Torquay RSL will host their dawn service.

A veteran’s march from Bell Street and The Esplanade to the Point Danger War Memorial will return for the first time since before the pandemic and will start proceedings at 5.40am.

The official public dawn service ceremony will take place thereafter at 6am.

 

Torquay RSL past president and commemorations leader Bob Tyler said the march would be a welcome inclusion to the event in its bid to return to pre-pandemic levels.

“It’ll be great to get the march back up and going to pay our respects… any returned servicepeople are welcome to take part,” Mr Tyler said.

“The dawn service will nearly be back to full scale – we still won’t have the choir or band, but we will definitely have people singing at the event.

“While we also won’t have the traditional gunfire breakfast this year, we aim to get it back up and going next year.”

 

 

With crowds slowly returning to pre-pandemic levels at events around the country, Mr Tyler hoped people would continue to turn up to pay their respects.

“It’s great that we can come together to remember those who have served and now that we’ve got all the local school children involved it’s even more important that we keep this tradition up.”

The Torquay service will also include an exclusive veterans and families service will take place after the public ceremony at Taylors Park Memorial Garden in Torquay at 7am.

The community is also invited to join veterans at 8:30am at the Torquay Bowls Club for refreshments and games of two-up.

Anglesea’s commemoration service will take place at the Anglesea Sub-Branch RSL on Murray Street and begin with a march from the Memorial Hall in McMillan Street, Anglesea at 9:45am.

A service in Winchelsea will be held at 10:30am at the Community Hub at Eastern Reserve and feature guest speaker Tori Ritchie (Afghanistan veteran) and a morning tea afterwards.