In years gone by we've been to the Perth Dawn Service in Kings Park which has in recent times grown to be the single largest one in the country, attended by some 35,000 plus, adults and children. My brother and his 3 little Gorski men will be there with too. The Bloke and I would walk up from our apartment to Kings Park via the Jacobs Ladder steps up the Mt Eliza hill-face which is now a very popular Boot Camp training element among the fitness fadistas. We have even attended the Albany service on Mt Clarence, overlooking King George Sound, where the ANZAC forces last sighted Australian soil. Very moving especially when a lone flare is detonated over the water as the sun is rising!
The Bloke's brother will be marching in Busselton today with a group of other Vietnam Diggers. We are very proud of him and his mates as they have had a lot to overcome to get to the point that they felt that they could face an ANZAC Day March and all the memories it might ignite.
My Dad no longer marches at the head of the Perth Polish Ex-servicemen. They disbanded their group when it was felt that their number would be insufficient and mostly too infirm to participate with dignity. For a good many years after that my Dad joined the slouch hat vets that tended the Kings Park War memorial. It was a very busy role with never a month passing between commemorations of some significant military event. ANZAC Day was a pinnacle of the year though and in the end became too much. Taking the job of standing to attention for the duration of the service very seriously is not for those with any kind of health issues. While he was still participating, it was nice to catch up with him afterwards for a thermos of coffee or a breakfast back at the apartment.
My Dad told me a beautiful story about the Highgate RSL where he is still I think, a member. There was a returned serviceman there who headed a small committee that tended all the small plaques at the bases of the trees planted along the avenues in Kings Park. Each tree and memorial plaque recalls a fallen comrade. This chap quietly performed this task for decades and always ensured that the plaques looked their best for Remembrance Day and ANZAC Day. Eventually Dad put this fellow forward for official recognition. By this stage the chap was gravely ill. Realising that he would unlikely survive until the official announcements, the WA State Governor's office was contacted and the award was presented at his bedside just before he died. It's nice to think this fellow was not forgotten while he was doing his best to ensure none of the fallen were forgotten.
So at stupid o'clock today, the Bloke and I rowed the dinghy across the dark marina canal to save 20 minutes of walking, leaving us with only 40mins of brisk walking to the far side of Port Lincoln to reach the local memorial and service. It was attended by at least 1,000 people. It was fascinating to see all the wreaths being laid by representatives of not just the armed services but all the groups that form the nerve fibres of the community organism here. Noted omissions were the State Schools. The private colleges sent student reps and laid wreaths. The State Schools were announced as if they were meant to be there but were a 'no show'. The trumpeter that played the Last Post did a great job given that his playing was echoing off the nearby tallest building in Pt Lincoln. The feedback would have been most disconcerting but he nailed every note just the same!
Our reward for our own pre-dawn march was to witness a stirring coming-together of appreciative inheritors of a country shaped by sacrifice.
Next on the agenda was a coffee at the Port Lincoln Hotel prior to our fave coffee place, Del Giorno's, opening at 08:30 for breakfast. Re-fuelled we ambled less purposefully full of contemplation back the marina. Mission accomplished.
L E S T W E F O R G E T
Helmet of the Unknown Digger casts a shadow
This Captain looked like he's stepped straight out of a history book
This splendid memorial was the impressive backdrop for the Port Lincoln ANZAC Day Dawn Service. Note there were actually 2 flags, our Australian flag is out of picture and both flags were lowered to half mast.
The dawn crowds now long gone and the seating left ready for the conclusion of the march later in the morning.
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