JUST over a month after a vandal damaged Castlemaine’s RSL Hall, the community made it clear its local veterans’ community was just as valued and respected as ever.
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Hundreds crowded around the cenotaph in the town’s centre on Tuesday morning for a moving Anzac Day service.
Close guard was kept over the hall and cenotaph overnight to ensure the passing storm and any return vandalism attack were kept at bay.
St Mary’s Primary School opened service with a rendition of “My Country”, before the traditional laying of the wreaths and a series of hymns led by talented local singer Emma Sayer.
Castlemaine Secondary College captains Meaghan Ferguson and Ben Reid spoke about the many different service men and women who fought in World War I, and the legacy of their service.
Meaghan said it was important to remember the service of all of those involved.
“Our Australian service men and women were comprised of many people who were born in countries other than Australia, who had only recently come to call Australia home, as well as our Indigenous people who had called Australia home well before the colonisation of this country,” she said.
“These Indigenous service men and women were, at the time of serving in 1915, still denied the right to vote and recognised only as being protected only under the native flora and fauna act
“I think their commitment to serve, protect and defend illustrates that it is the shared values of people which brought us together in 1915, rather than a shared ethnicity, cultural background or geography.
“And it continues to be our shared values which are important today.”
Lieutenant Colonel Mike Freeman, who has served in East Timor and had two deployments to Afghanistan, was the Anzac Day speaker.
Having left Castlemaine as a 17-year-old to join the army, he reflected on his own progression in the armed forces – and the respect he instantly gained for older veterans.
“I served alongside many armies across the world. Anzac day is unique in its ability to cross generations and influence younger members of the community in a way that veterans’ days and memorial days in other countries cannot,” he said.
“Shortly after I joined the army, I was forming the honour guard at the Australian War Memorial, and as I watched veterans of previous conflicts walk past, I reflected on whether or not I would see operational service.
“I couldn’t quite picture myself in the same league as those veterans walking in front of me.
“As I’ve progressed throughout my career, I came to understand there is little difference between the generations that have gone before, and the generations that followed.
“There was little difference in the skill, professionalism or the dedication.”
Those in attendance then joined together to sing God Save The Queen, the Australian National Anthem and the New Zealand National Anthem.