CROWDS FLOCK TO ANZAC DAY SERVICES

By TIM HOWARD

Anzac Day was back with a bang in Grafton with organisers stunned at the massive public turnout.

Grafton RSL subBranch secretary Denis Benfield said both the Dawn Service and this year’s march and service were as big as any he had seen.

He said the turnout was all the more remarkable because the traditional Anzac Day site, Memorial Park, was virtually a construction site for work on the Grafton Waterfront Precinct Project.

Mr Benfield said the only numbers that were down this year were the schools, but that was understandable because of the school holidays.

“We still had a lot of school children in the march, not quite as many as we normally have,” he said.

“All things considered it was still a good turnout from the schools, which is a good sign for the future of Anzac Day.”

Mr Benfield said the council had performed wonders getting Memorial Park into shape for Anzac Day.

“If you’d come down here last Friday, you would not have thought it possible for us to hold a service here,” he said.

“There was stuff everywhere, holes in the ground you name, it was there,” he said. “They must have worked tirelessly to get it right for today and it’s a real credit to them.”

He said sub-branch members were looking forward to Remembrance Day in November, when the park will be restored to full functionality.

“It’s going to be great,” he said.

Mr Benfield said the way Anzac Day was pleased with the way Anzac Day had retained its relevance after the Covid-19 pandemic had been remarkable.

“People were so pleased to get a chance to get out and do it after being locked away for so long,” he said.

“We didn’t have it in 2020 and the last two years there have been restrictions in place,” he said.

“People are really enjoying the chance to get out and do some of the things they’ve been missing out on.”

Mr Benfield was also looking forward to Memorial Park being finished in time for Remembrance Day on November 11.

“It’s going to look great when it’s done and the park fully open again,” he said. “It’s been tremendous what the council has been able to do to keep it going in the meantime, but when it’s finished it will look fantastic.”

By TIM HOWARD

A feature of the Grafton Anzac Day service over the years has been Anzac Day addresses delivered by local school children and 2023 was no exception.

Four students researched a topic, selected by Grafton RSL sub-Branch secretary Denis Benfield and delivered the results in a short speech to a receptive audience Memorial Park.

Mr Benfield said this has been a feature of the ceremony for a long time and he was always impressed at the level of scholarship the students put into the address.

“We have pupils from primary schools right up to senior high school and each time you can see they have really put in the time to research the topic,” he said.

He said it’s not hard to find an area of Australia’s military history to investigate, but he quickly realised the need there had to be an independent to choose the topics.

“As well researched as they are, it would not be good to double up,” he said.

In summary, these were the efforts from this year’s group.

Amelia Campbell, Westlawn Public School

Amelia gave a stirring account of how the Australian soldiers battled the terrain, the elements and the advancing Japanese army on the Kokoda Track in Papua New Guinea during World War II.

From defeating the Japanese at Ower’s Corner, just 48km from Port Moresby

Amelia recounted the engagements that have become legendary, like Isurava, Wairopi, Sananda, Buna and Gona.

Amelia’s research also reveals the depth of gratitude the Australia soldiers had for the so-called Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels who carried sick and wounded soldiers to safety and kept the Australia troops supplied.

She captured vividly the troubles all combatants faced fighting on the muddy, mountainous track.

“They didn’t measure distances on the Track in length but on the time it took to travel ,” she said.

More than 600 Australians died during the fighting ad another 1600 were wounded and another 400 were incapacitated with disease.

Kayah Causley. Grafton Public School

The Malayan Emergency is a theatre of fighting often overlooked after the end of the Second World Way, but Kayah Causley from Grafton Public School recalled that time that extended from the late 1940s to the early 60s when the threat of communism in Asia seemed to be spreading.

Australia ground troops joined the British in resisting the Malaysian Communist Party’s growing guerrilla war, taking part in counter insurgency operations during 1955 and 56.

The 2nd Battalion Royal Australian Regiment, the 3RAR and 1RAR all undertook tours of duty in Malaya fighting in the jungle near Perak and Kedah.

The Australian’s effort result in securing Perak and gaining ascendancy over the insurgents.

Kayah said the Australian success in these area was due to a tactic of moving villagers into camps away from the subversive elements, which weakened their influence.