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North Shore Electorate Anzac Day Commemorations

Published on: May 2022

Record: HANSARD-1323879322-124278

North Shore Electorate Anzac Day Commemorations

Ms FELICITY WILSON (North Shore) (19:27:28):

This year marks the 107th anniversary of the Gallipoli campaign, the first major military action Australian and New Zealand forces fought during World War I. The Anzac forces landed in Gallipoli, as we know, on 25 April 1915 and faced fierce resistance from the Ottoman Turkish defenders. During the eight months of that campaign, the Anzac spirit was forged in the horror and carnage that they faced. The Gallipoli campaign also had a profound impact on Australians at home, and 25 April soon became the day on which Australians remember the sacrifice of all those who have died and suffered in war and subsequently.

On Anzac Day we pause our busy lives to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice, and we reflect with pride on their courage and mateship. My community has been widely represented across the generations in times of war and peacekeeping. The call to service was always answered, and we remember and pay tribute to all those who have served or died in conflicts around the world. After two years of disruption and scaled-back events, not even the rain and chilly pre-dawn conditions could stop the many thousands of people who turned out at dawn services across the State and in my local community. Many were particularly pleased to see the Anzac Day march trundling through the streets of Sydney once more.

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This year I joined hundreds of locals at the Mosman dawn service, hosted by the Mosman RSL Sub‑Branch. I am always proud to see many members of our community get out of bed so early in the morning, coffee in hand and the coat on, all standing in sombre silence and remembering. I make a special mention of all those who assisted in running the service: Mosman RSL Sub-Branch president Alan Toner; HMAS Commander Michael Nipperess, who gave an excellent speech on the day referring to the service of historic Mosman residents who had served throughout the wars; HMAS chaplain Catherine Wynn Jones; Mosman Sub‑Branch vice-president Peter Watson; Mosman Sub-Branch secretary Chris Dunne; David Twyford; Miles Bennet, for playing the and ; the catafalque party from HMAS ; the Mosman High School band; the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust, for hosting us on the parade grounds; and the Mosman SES, for all their support with traffic and person coordination.

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It was heartening in particular to see so many local students attending the service and laying wreaths on behalf of their schools. I acknowledge the students of Beauty Point Public School, Middle Harbour Public School, Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School, Mosman High School, Blessed Sacrament Catholic Primary School and Redlands. Unfortunately, because I was at Mosman, I could not join residents at the North Sydney dawn service. But I acknowledge all of those who had a role in running it: North Sydney Sub-Branch president Alex Wilson, vice-president Geoff Watson, Commodore Tim Brown, Commander Mick Miller from HMAS , member for North Sydney and North Sydney RSL Sub-Branch patron Trent Zimmerman, Tamara Dunne, Chris Greatrex, Veronica Bondarew, Mackenzie Anderson, the catafalque party from HMAS , the 1st North Sydney Scout Group, the Cammeray Scout Group, the New Zealand Maori Concert Party and the Clan MacLeod Pipe Band of Sydney. A special thankyou to Simon Moore, who laid a wreath on my behalf at North Sydney.

I was also able to join members of my community at the 11.00 a.m. Neutral Bay Club service and lay a wreath. That service has been growing over the years, and it is always well attended by Neutral Bay locals. This year was no exception, particularly because of the return of the time-honoured game of two-up held on the bowling green after the service. I thank and recognise Malcolm Stradwick and Peter Lewis in particular for leading that service. I also acknowledge the Kirribilli RSL Sub-Branch. I joined them for their Sunday Anzac service the day before Anzac Day in Kirribilli. A special thankyou to Sub-Branch president Julian Robinson and everyone involved on the day for such a fitting tribute to our service men and women.

I finish by looking at the world that we are currently living in and the reflections that we can have in this time with the geopolitical challenges that we are facing. The services across our community noted the events that are happening in Ukraine and in Europe—the impact of the challenges to freedom, to lives and to the ability for individuals to go about enjoying their own country, their own homes, their own jobs and life with their families without the incursion of violence, abuse, assault and the loss of life and liberty. That theme was particularly poignant for all of us this year as we get to enjoy the relative freedom and safety that we experience here in Australia, but it also reminds us that we are one world. Throughout history, the loss of life that has occurred for Australians has been predominantly in overseas conflicts and overseas peacekeeping and peacemaking. We continue to be part of that world and to call for freedom, stability, liberty and life for all of those individuals. The Kemal Ataturk speech poignantly reflects Anzac Day for many of us, and I finish with those words:

Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives … You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace.