WODONGA DAWN SERVICE
By Natalie Kotsios
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THE rumbles of thunder had been stirring all morning, threatening to break - yet the crowds came anyway.
Heavy black clouds swirled overhead, dotted with flashes of lightning - but still the people came.
At 5.30am the heavens let loose, a solid drenching that soaked those scurrying towards Wodonga’s Woodland Grove. Some sought out whatever shelter they could, others stood resolute and let the weather do its worst.
If the sky was issuing a challenge on this Anzac Day centenary, the 5000 or so who turned out to Wodonga’s dawn service responded defiantly.
What was, after all, a little fall of rain but a minor inconvenience, in comparison with the reason for this gathering?
Their determination was seemingly rewarded; for just as quickly as the storm came, it cleared just in time for the catafalque party to take its first strides toward the cenotaph, accompanied by the clockwork beats of drummer Milton Mann.
They took their places and stood unwavering, led by Petty Officer Bradley Clarke, a Navy man for 10 years now and stationed on the Border for the past 18 months.
His mother Donna Clarke travelled from Sydney to watch her son, “exceptionally proud” at the role he was playing.
“I think it’s obviously important to everyone who has a family member in the defence force, it brings it closer to home,” she said.
While for many the familial Anzac link remains strong, for others it was the weight of the 100th anniversary of the Anzac landing that meant a pull to the service they may not have felt before.
While Tim Chapman and his family attended the main memorial each year, it had been a decade since the Wodonga man had attended a dawn service - this year was, he remarked, a “bit more special”, a more powerful reminder.
Indeed, it seemed difficult to disagree.
In the stillness that enveloped the crowd as the haunting first notes of The Last Post trumpeted, it was hard not to feel part of something bigger.
Wodonga RSL Kevyn Williams credits the morning’s turnout - double that of previous years - with the interest generated by the Anzac centenery.
“To have that many people and children on a day like today was extremely uplifting in a way,” he said.
“The emphasis there has been in the media on honouring those who paid the ultimate sacrifice has really impacted on the minds of many.
“They want to be part of it - and that so many are willing to come out on a morning like this, it’s their sacrifice to make sure those soldiers are remembered.”
ALBURY DAWN SERVICE
By Di Thomas
ONLY minutes before Albury's dawn service was due to begin, thunder and lightning gave way to rain ... big drops of water that soon became a heavy shower and continued for about 10 minutes just after 5.30am.
There was nowhere to go. Those of us with umbrellas offered shelter to those who did not and a camaraderie was created as we waited for the formalities to start.
Albury RSL vice-president Mark Dando and the Rev Alan Kelb noted the sound and light show created by the thunder and lightning was reminiscent of that seen by soldiers as they came ashore at Gallipoli a century earlier, albeit without the casualties.
Mr Dando told more than 1000 people gathered at what must have been Albury's largest dawn service he had prayed for no rain between 5.30am and 6am.
He soon had his prayers answered. The showers stopped, the umbrellas went down and the service got underway.
Mr Dando spoke of the 100th anniversary of the date on which members of the 9th, 10th and 11th battalions came ashore at Gallipoli at 4.30am on April 25, 1915, followed by their New Zealand comrades at 8am, the first time the two young nations had fought together.
In the following eight months, the Australians suffered 25,000 casualties, including 8700 who were killed or died of their wounds.
"The Gallipoli campaign is indelibly linked to our development as a nation," Mr Dando said.
"The values and lifestyle we enjoy today was forged by those original Anzacs and is upheld by servicemen and women to this day both abroad and here at home."
Mr Dando said in light of terrorist threats emerging in Melbourne this week he wanted to make special mention of the work of the police forces in keeping Australians safe.
"I'm proud of what our forebears have achieved and the legacy they have left us," he said.
"Today is to remember those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for Australia, their families and those who came home whose lives had changed forever.
"I'm proud to have served and I'm proud to be Australian.
"The RSL motto is 'freedom is not free', please remember that."
City of Albury RSL chaplain, Fr. Kelb offered the call to remembrance and the Lord's Prayer followed by Sarah Winnel singing the hymn Recessional by Rudyard Kipling.
As the sky lightened with the sun emerging behind the clouds, Mr Dando again took to the podium to thank the crowd for their attendance.
"The numbers here today makes me extremely proud," he said.
Mr Dando then shared a story of meeting an Afghanistan veteran a year ago who had lost one leg from the thigh down and the other leg just under the knee.
"When he knew I was a Vietnam veteran, he shook my hand and said to me 'thank you for your service'," he said.
"It was particularly humbling, this guy who had suffered tremendously and I hadn't, I was all in one piece.
"So I ask as you see veterans moving around during the day, wearing their medals, remember they have been prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice for you to have a standard of living we enjoy today.
"Please take the time to let them know you're proud of them and thank them for their service."
The stories of our Anzacs ...
100 Years of Anzacs | Border Mail centenary souvenir edition
Faces of Anzacs | 1000 Anzacs honoured on national tribute wall