Cr Rochelle Halstead and Jack Papas, from Newhaven College, at the San Remo Anzac Day event. Jack was the special guest speaker and described the day as an appreciation of the Anzac sacrifice, not a glorification of war.
Crowd observes a minute’s silence at the San Remo Anzac Day service.
Doug Arnold from the Vietnam Veterans Association of Australia lays a wreath at the San Remo Cenotaph.
Organisers Krishna and John Methven OAM, with Newhaven College captain Jack Papas.
Sisters Barbara Maxfield (left) and Karen Cahill (right) with Caroline Talbot from the Bendigo Bank. Barbara was visiting from Adelaide and said her daughter was in France, marching in the international Anzac Day commemorations in Villers-Bretonneux.
Gaye Carias – a Legatee for the area handed out poppies to those attending the service.
Rod Legg and Graham Swallow at the Anzac Day service. Rod served in the Navy for 11 years, while Graham wore his father’s World War 2 medals.
Wreaths laid at the San Remo Cenotaph for Anzac Day.
Peter Buitenhuis played the Last Post and after the crowd observed a minute’s silence, the Reveille.
With record crowds at Anzac events across the shire, San Remo’s traditional Anzac Day 11am Service attracted around 300 people.
The large crowd listened to moving speeches by MC John Methven OAM and Newhaven College School Captain Jack Papas.
John spoke briefly about the significance of the Lone Pine, which was planted on the San Remo foreshore in 2015.
“The term Lone Pine comes from Gallipoli,” John said, referring to the solitary pine tree on a hill that the soldiers used as a direction finder.
It was also the scene of a savage battle.
“Lone Pine was an action that featured one of the most famous assaults in the campaign,” John explained.
Nearly 2300 men were killed and wounded as the Australian troops took and held the Turkish trenches.
The soldiers’ efforts allowed Australian troops to evacuate at night by sea – without a single life being lost.
“One of the group kept a pine cone from the tree and brought it home,” John said.
“Many years later, five trees were grown from the seeds and four of them survived.
“The seeds have been raised and controlled by Legacy and our Lone Pine is an actual descendent of the original Lone Pine.”
New generation
Newhaven College captain Jack Papas said it was hard for his generation to relate to the hardship of the Anzacs, many of whom were the same age as he is now.
He described Anzac Day as an appreciation of their sacrifice, not a glorification of war.
In an age ruled by technology, and as the recent Covid lockdowns had shown, he said it was easy to become disconnected.
“Anzac Day brings us back together and acts as a reminder of a time when the world came together.
“The Anzacs sacrificed themselves so that we can be here today.
“We are living freely in a beautiful part of the world because of soldiers who put their lives on the line. They died so the generations after them could imagine a world where war didn’t exist.
“I promise to never forget the lessons they have taught us and to work towards a future they would be proud of.”
Many in the crowd had family connections to Anzac Day and other conflicts, including current service men and women.
Cr Rochelle Halstead had also attended the Bass Dawn Service, which attracted a big crowd.
She said being able to attend after the years of Covid restrictions, plus the current conflict in Ukraine were possible reasons for the big turnout.
“I think the events in the world are having an impact. These are the biggest events I’ve seen.”
Barbara Maxfield from Adelaide was at the service with her sister Karen Cahill who lives in San Remo. She was looking forward to watching the international Anzac Day commemorations in Villers-Bretonneux, where her daughter was marching in the parade.
Legatee Gaye Garias distributed poppies to the crowd, as she has done for the past three years.
“My dad was a POW in Germany, so my sisters and I started coming to the service,” she said.
“Mum was in the Land Army. When all the men went off to war, she was 16 and volunteered and went and worked on farms around Australia.”
The contribution of the Land Army wasn’t formally recognised as part of Anzac commemorations until the mid 80s, Gaye said, when the women were allowed to march.
“She came every year. She loved it.”
Graham Swallow wore his father’s World War 2 medals and remembers going into the city with his father for the annual march.
“He didn’t talk a lot about the war,” he said.
Rod Legg served in the Navy for 11 years, including trips to Vietnam on the HMAS Sydney Troop Carrier and working on the HMAS Stuart, a type 12 frigate.
“I did 10 trips on the Sydney, taking troops up. We took and delivered them and went home. Those poor buggers had 12 months to do.”
He was 16 when he joined the navy and just 22 when he went to Vietnam.
“Wars are fought by young people,” he said.
The Ode was read by Bill Noble and once again Peter Buitenhuis played the Last Post and Reveille.
Wreaths were laid by Cr Rochelle Halstead on behalf of Bass Coast Shire Council, Keith Gregory for Rotary, Caroline Talbot for the Bendigo Community Banks, Doug Arnold from the Vietnam Veterans Association of Australia, Maureen Matthews for the War Widows. Jazzy and Riley from Newhaven Primary School and Jane Ross on behalf of her father Bill Ross and all the Desert Rats, as well as a number of individual wreaths.
