By Aston Brown
Hundreds stood in the darkness of Leslie Park as the Australian and New Zealand flags blew gently at half-mast, soft shades of blue creeping from a black horizon. “It’s because of them, that we can,” said high school student Georgina Buchan, addressing the ANZAC Day dawn service in Warwick.
“This morning Australians gather in peace, free citizens of a proud and free nation, provided to us all by the sacrifice of our servicemen and women,” she said. “Yet our freedom and peace of the past is not a guarantee of the future.”
It’s the undercurrent of this year’s ANZAC Day ceremonies as Australians look back on the past to make sense of an uncertain future.
“As Winston Churchill said: ‘those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it’,” Georgina added.
Over a symphony of bagpipes, veterans of all eras had quiet reunions and warm embraces as the service got underway. “It’s great to see such a great turn here this morning,” said Warwick RSL Sub-Branch President, Rod Brittain.
The service marked 109 years since thousands of Australians soldiers lost their lives storming the beaches of the Gallipoli peninsula during the First World War.
“In the midst of that terrible savagery and human suffering, we catch a glimpse of something so powerful, that it's able to transform the awfulness of that grubby, disorganised carnage,” said Rev Darren Muller from the Warwick Baptist Church.
“The ANZAC story invites us to make this rich and bold heritage part of our own story and to add this depth and history of loving and giving to our own lives as we seek to work for the common good of our community.”
Cr Joel Richters served as a medic in the regular army for eight years. He said more people are showing up to dawn services every year.
“People in this community are not just looking at the day as a commemoration, we’re looking at it for what it means for the future,” Cr Richters said. “The conflicts and uncertainty around the world are making us think about our own security.”
Veteran Ross Maslin deployed to Iraq during his seven years of service in the third Royal Australian Regiment. “Today brings everyone together and fortifies who we are as a nation, as a society, it’s good to see the ANZAC spirit is there,” he said.
“With all the crap going on in the world at the moment, it’s good to see that we still have our humanity, we still care about the people who made the ultimate sacrifice.”
