The day started with a chilly and sombre dawn service but by mid-afternoon, as the cold beers flowed and the day warmed, another Anzac tradition - two-up - kicked off on both sides of the Murray.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Veterans in uniform and casual onlookers gathered around the rings to engage in what was once an illegal activity and is now legitimate just one day a year - Anzac Day.
While few pubs on the Victorian side of the border put a ring in their carparks - the action was happening at the Wodonga RSL - hundreds gathered at the Star and Sodens hotels over the border in Albury.
Wodonga man David McQuilton spent 10 minutes in the ring at the Wodonga RSL before bowing out.
"Normally I go over to the SS&A but this year I thought I'd take the family here, there's plenty for kids to do," he said. "It doesn't help me with losing money because I'm not too good at this but I love to give it a go."
Jason McLarty said he's a "slightly bigger better" than his wife Nyree Green who makes $5 bets.
"We come here every year, love the two-up, it's one way to respect the diggers because it's what they used to do," Mr McLarty said.
"It's just a fantastic atmosphere, everybody is just so friendly, it's a great day."
Across the Murray at the Star, Bathurst man Adrian Chapple said he hadn't missed the two-up at Star in decades.
"It's just a game but it's all about the diggers, mate," he said. "I had an uncle, Harry - Harold Day - who was a POW in Changi and he came home alive but he was a different man.
"I lived in Albury for 10 years and left to live in Bathurst but I drive here every year for this, I have $150 in my kick.
"If I win, it pays for my trip, if I don't it doesn't matter because I know it's going to a good cause - everyone wins, really."
Ringer at the Star, Charlie Morris, said he had been involved in running the activity for 33 years.
"The whole idea of it that you watch a traditional game and the money, the takings, go to charity, to Legacy," Mr Morris said.
"We run it from noon to six o'clock, that's the traditional time, and we get a huge crowd in here, not just old blokes, a lot of young people come here to see this as well."
Deidre Ortiz, 80, also has a long history with two-up at the Star.
"Well, no luck this year, but that's OK," Mrs Ortiz said. "I'm an Albury local, I used to come to this 40 years ago with my husband. It's for a good cause and it's a good social day."
