Month completed: April 2008

Today is Anzac Day in Australia. A day dedicated to the memories of the Australian soldiers that have lost their lives at war.

Being a proud Australian, I have always wanted to go to Anzac Day memorial service at dawn. So I set my alarm for 4.30am to give me plenty of time to get to the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne for the service at 6am.

Unfortunately I slept through the alarm, so when I did get up at 5.30am, I only had time to put clothes on, swig a gulp of Listerine, and then jump on the scooter for the mad ride to get there in time.

Just as I got there and started up the hill towards the Shrine, the last post started (the last post is a song of military tradition played by a single bugle). This signalled the start of proceedings, so I knew that I had made it just in time.

There were thousands of people there (I heard it was in the tens of thousands on the radio) and it was a very sombre atmosphere. Here is a picture of the Shrine at dawn.

There were speeches by a current army officer, and a girl who played the last post on violin at Gallipoli (but oddly enough didn’t play it today). Then God Save The Queen was played, followed by the Australian national anthem (which brought a tear to my eye, as it usually does).

After all of this, people were invited to enter the Shrine to place a poppy inside to dedicate to a loved one lost, or for all those that lost their lives. As you can see below, there were lots of people wanting to go inside. What was really nice was that there was no urgency from anyone to get inside, so no one was pushing in line or ruining the quiet ambiance of the morning.

Going to a dawn service is something every Australian should do. It gives you a strong sense of national pride and respect for those that have gone to war and represented our nation. Next year I plan to visit Gallipoli (which is in Turkey) on Anzac Day.

Lest We Forget.