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Volume 7, Wednesday May 28th, 2010
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Flag bearers leading the march to the War Memorial in Roxby Downs
ANZAC Day recognises all who served A
By Millie Thomas
nzac Day - it brings forth images of soldiers of the past and the present, of poppies and two-up, Gallipoli and trenches.
This year, marked the 95th anniversary of our ancestors battling alongside the New Zealand army corp. in an effort on the coastline of Turkey. Gallipoli beach, for this reason, has become infamous. Full of a dark history, and a million reasons for Australians the world over to stand in silent remembrance of those who fought our battles. This year, Anzac Day was special. Apart from the usual tribute paid to our ANZAC diggers, there was a special tribute this year, delivered by Roxby’s own Jamie Love. Jamie addressed Indigenous Australia in a moving and well constructed speech. Mr Love stressed the importance of not discriminating between the nationalities of soldiers from the past, present and future, but to concentrate on the services and sacrifices they have made. “It is important that we take the opportunity to reflect that the emphasis on someone’s colour or nationality is immaterial when you are all wearing the same uniform,” he said. “Perhaps there are some things that could indeed be learnt from those relationships forged in war or in the face of adversity when people come together from all different backgrounds with a common goal. “So in summation, I would hope that, on this day, we take time to reflect on the people from all walks of life and background who served together and developed strong bonds of camaraderie as just soldiers serving the country they love – Australia, “I think it is valuable to note that, in my view, a soldier is a soldier, and we should not fall into an emphasis on a particular group who has served in war for their or their adopted country – be they aboriginal, Scottish, or of any other background,” said Mr Love. Jack McGuire, President of the Andamooka and Roxby RSL sub – branch attended both the services at Roxby and Andamooka and was incredibly pleased with the support from the Roxby District community. “There was nearly 300 people at the Roxby dawn service and about fifty or sixty at the Andamooka service, “What I was trying to achieve was to acknowledge indigenous Australian servicemen and ex-servicemen. “I stand in tribute to my indigenous brothers who fought side by side with their fellow Australians whose contribution has not been fully appreciated and acknowledged. I salute you,” said Mr McGuire in an emotional address. Bob Jacobs, Andamooka’s Community Manager for the Outback Areas Community Development Trust was incredibly pleased with the service at Andamooka. “It was fantastic. Our municipal services team have done a magic job at getting this all prepared. “There has been a great turn out. It’s probably been the best turn out we’ve seen in Andamooka for some time, “We were worried about the recent weather. We couldn’t get through the entrance way for the mud and one of our volunteers has been good enough to clear the way, “There is a real community spirit out here. That’s one of the good things about Andamooka everyone tends to band together,” he said. So as time goes on, we can only hope that the tradition of Anzac Day is carried on by our children as it has our forefathers.
Jack, Jamie, Reverend Mary Lewis, John and David “Bluey” stand proud in front of the War Memorial