By Lucy Waldron
Warwick’s main Anzac Day Parade and Service brought together schools, veterans, bands, services, and community members to commemorate the day on 25 April.
The streets of the CBD were lined with spectators as notable figures marched, flags flying high, symbolising their values and commitments.
Leslie Park bloomed with red, white, and blue flowers as hundreds gathered to pay their respects at the ceremony.
Veterans marched to their designated seats by the cenotaph, flanked by flags from the Southern Downs Ex-Service Association and Warwick RSL Sub-branch, marking the solemn occasion.
This year held special significance as it marked the 110th anniversary of the founding of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. Wreaths were laid by individuals touched by the wars, honouring the sacrifices made.
MP James Lister addressed the crowd, reflecting on the history of Anzac Day.
“We observe today, Anzac Day, 109 years on from that fateful dawn in 1915. That was a dawn when Australian and New Zealand soldiers made an amphibious assault on Turkish soil,” MP Lister said.
“But as we know, history is a very vivid and harsh thing, its pronouncement on this particular military venture is clear.
“The Gallipoli campaign was a failure, in fact, historians will correctly say that it was doomed from the beginning, after almost a year of cost land and naval operations, the Ottomans had not been knocked out of the war and we had suffered great casualties,” he said.
“We as Australians and New Zealanders, however, mark the date of the Gallipoli landings with pride, gratitude and exuberance.
“Pride in who we are, gratitude for the fallen and those who served us and an enthusiastic celebration of our two nations characters,” MP Lister said.
The official proceeding carried on with both Anthems being sung, the flags being retired and the fade-away ceremony for the veterans to march through the year 12s of the Warwick Schools.
Across the Southern Downs, similar memorials were conducted, echoing the sentiment engraved in the Leslie Park memorial: “All gave some, some gave all.“ The community spirit embodied by these words remains as strong today as ever.
