Sunshine Coast community members have come together this morning for moving tributes to former and current servicemen and women as part of ANZAC Day commemorations.
Maroochy RSL president Les D’Alton said the ANZAC Day Dawn Service is a seminal day in the community-based organisation’s calendar.
If you have a photo from any of the local ANZAC Day services you’d like to share with Sunshine Coast News readers, email photo@sunshinecoastnews.com.au.
“Each year ANZAC Day gets bigger and bigger, it’s a day where all Australians come together and commemorate the sacrifice of the original ANZACs as well as those men and women who have served our country in all other wars since 1915,” he said.
“Our ANZAC Day commemoration is steeped in tradition and protocol. The Dawn Service is a poignant ceremony featuring the laying of wreaths, sounding of the Last Post and observance of a minute’s silence. There’s no other day like it in Australia and we are proud of the way our RSL have continued this very important tradition over the years.”
At Nambour’s Quota Memorial Park, a large crowd gathered to hear the story of local man Claude Bonner Nosworthy.
He survived campaigns at Gallipolli and the Western Front and served right through World War I with remarkable resilience: he was never wounded and was rarely ill.
But a few years after returning, he died while attempting to rescue some troubled swimmers at Maroochydore beach.
He was remembered with the installation of a plaque during the Dawn Service.
This year’s ANZAC Day Dawn Service was a particularly special one for Mooloolaba Surf Life Saving Club, as the club also marks its 100-year centenary.
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“Celebrating ANZAC Day at Mooloolaba is a special moment for our club members who proudly pay their respects to the brave soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country,” Mooloolaba Surf Life Saving Club president Matthew Horder said.
“It is a time for us to come together as a community and acknowledge the invaluable contribution of our servicemen and women, past and present.”
The event was the 14th service held at Mooloolaba Beach, providing locals and visitors with an opportunity to honour and reflect on the sacrifices made by so many brave men and women.
Mooloolaba Surf Life Saving Club has a proud history of support for its veteran members, including Vietnam and Young Veterans.
“MSLSC Vietnam Veterans are a tight-knit bunch, and a small group of us started planning our first ANZAC Day service in 2008,” MSLSC ANZAC Day Committee chairman and Vietnam Veteran Ian Atkinson said.
“That first service was attended by just a couple of hundred people watching from the beach. The event has now grown with around 10,000 people attending each year, all respectfully sharing their solemnity and appreciation of lives lost and those still serving in this fitting tribute for our ANZACs.”
RSL Queensland state president Major General Stephen Day acknowledged the importance of all Queenslanders supporting, recognising and participating in ANZAC Day.
“ANZAC Day is a day where we remember and commemorate all of those who have sacrificed so much to secure the freedoms and way of life that we, as Australians, are so privileged to have,” Maj-Gen Day said.
“There’s no greater way to honour the selfless contribution of our past and present service personnel than by participating in your local ANZAC Day commemorations and keeping the spirit of our ANZACs alive.
“Not only is this a profoundly meaningful time to remember those who fell at Gallipoli, ANZAC Day is an important date to commemorate all those who have served in a range of modern conflicts and peacekeeping operations at home and abroad.
“It is also an important occasion to acknowledge the contribution of Defence families and those who have played a pivotal role in supporting veterans both during and after service.”
RSL Queensland worked with its network of more than 230 Sub-Branches to host over 400 services this year for all Queenslanders to pay their respects and honour the service and sacrifice of veterans this ANZAC Day.
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