Across the Sunshine Coast this morning community members have gathered to pay heartfelt tribute to past and present servicemen and women as part of ANZAC Day commemorations.
Some dawn services proceeded under heavy skies, after much of the Coast received heavy downpours overnight, but the early commemorations at Nambour and Buderim were cancelled.
At Mudjimba, thunder and lightning flashed overhead during the service, with RSL sub-branch president and MC Graeme Wong warning proceedings may need to be halted.
A planned paddle-out by the combined board riders and surf clubs of Mudjimba and Marcoola was also cancelled because of lightning.
The service included the laying of floral tributes, a moving Ode of Remembrance and the sounding of the Last Post, following by a minute’s silence. The catafalque party was comprised of members of the 207 Squadron of the Australian Air Force Cadets, based in Nambour.
ANZAC Day marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces in Gallipoli during World War I in 1915.
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Dawn services and marches across the nation honoured the enduring contributions of service personnel at Gallipoli and the 110 years since, RSL Australia national president Greg Melick said.
“The Gallipoli campaign was the first major military action involving Australian and New Zealand forces,” he said.
“They held their ground against almost impossible odds for eight months in the ravines and gullies of that rugged battleground, suffering terrible casualties.
“They fought with endurance, courage, ingenuity, good humour and mateship.”
For Buderim’s main ANZAC Day parade, World War II veteran Ron Hooper was planning again to ride past in a green 1910 Sunbeam.
Sharp as a tack, 101-year-old Mr Hooper said he appreciated all who gathered each year to remember those who served.
“It’s good that people still respect the day,” he said.
Like many young men of the era, Mr Hooper was conscripted on the day he turned 18, serving as a medic in Papua New Guinea.
“We didn’t sign up, we got dragged up as they used to call it. We had no choice,” he said.
Mr Hooper said ANZAC Day was time to think of his mates. His unit consisted of young men from the Brisbane area, all of whom survived despite facing a number of close calls at the hands of the Japanese troops.
He recalled an incident when he and a comrade came under fire on an open beach while trying to retrieve a severely injured soldier who later passed away.
Memories of what these men endured have stayed with Mr Hooper and his participation at ANZAC Day events is a tribute to those who did not make it home.
The Mooloolaba dawn service saw boat crews silently paddle out to sea, laying wreaths of native Australian flowers, before raising their oars to the haunting echoes of the Last Post.
In a powerful tribute to the ANZACs, a lone horseman from the 2nd Light Horse Regiment, Woombye Troop, galloped along Mooloolaba Beach. This year, following the sad passing of the beloved ANZAC Day horse Jack, his legacy lived on through Bill, ridden by Rusty Perry.
The ceremony featured retired Defence Force veterans leading the ANZAC Day Ode, the Sunshine Coast Grammar School Bel Canto Choir and a didgeridoo solo by Peter Tilney.
Honouring New Zealand’s servicemen and women, the ceremony also included a Maori Haka and the New Zealand national anthem, sung by Graham Stewart.
The weather forced Bli Bli’s ANZAC Day Ceremony to be moved from the Bli Bli Cenotaph to Good Samaritan Catholic College.
Senior Sergeant Brad Doolan, a police officer with 25 years’ experience, delivered the Commemorative Address and spoke of the need for kindness among each other.
Songs were performed by the combined choirs of the Halcyon Lakeside Singers, Bli Bli State School and Good Samaritan.
