Commemorative Days

A big thank you to our official photographer for the day – Holly Daniel of www.hdpix.com.au
along with Alannah Williams and Jazzy Johar

We have a resposibility

A copy of Captain Zac Williams powerful message, delivered at the 2026 Commemorative Service.

My name is Captain Zac Williams. I am currently serving at the School of Armour in Puckapunyal, and I have served more than twenty years in the Australian Regular Army, including deployments to Iraq and Timor‑Leste.

I would like to start by thanking the Shepparton RSL for their invitation to speak at today’s commemorations. I grew up here in Shepparton. I have been attending services at this Cenotaph since I was a child. Like many here, this community helped shape who I am, and it is deeply meaningful to stand here today, on ANZAC Day, and reflect alongside people and places that have long been part of my life.

In the darkness before dawn on the 25th of April 1915, the first soldiers of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps made their way ashore on the Gallipoli Peninsula. They were part of a vast Allied campaign, led by British and French forces, intended to seize control of the Turkish Straits and open the way to Constantinople. Success would mean a chance to knock Turkey out of the war entirely.

That morning, at what would soon be known as Anzac Cove, Australian troops were the first to land, with New Zealand forces following later that day. They advanced inland under intense enemy fire through steep cliffs, exposed slopes, and determined Turkish resistance. With little cover from enemy fire and seemingly impossible terrain, the attack ground to a halt. Some 2000 Australians were killed or wounded on that first day alone, their prize; a small beach head under constant attack from Turkish artillery, machine guns and sniper fire.

The campaign soon became a brutal stalemate. Every yard of ground was paid for in blood. Conditions on the front lines were appalling, and disease claimed as many lives as the fighting itself. The Anzacs endured eight months of brutal fighting, but little success. Allied commanders made the decision to retreat. The campaign was lost. By then, around 8,700 Australians and nearly 2,700 New Zealanders had been killed, among more than 130,000 dead from all nations involved.

So why do we choose the 25th of April as a day to remember? Why mark the beginning of a disastrous campaign that claimed the lives of so many of our soldiers for so little gain.

The Gallipoli campaign marks the first time Australia was confronted with the full and brutal reality of modern war. For the first time, Australians fought under their own banner, for their own nation. Gallipoli became a defining moment in our national story – a baptism by fire that shaped our collective identity. Despite the loss, from that shared grief emerged something special and enduring: a bond between two nations that went beyond alliance – a mate ship forged in battle that has seen Australia and New Zealand stand shoulder to shoulder in times of war for more than a century.

At home, communities across Australia and New Zealand mourned together. Small towns and cities alike felt the loss. Families, schools, workplaces, and communities, this community, were changed forever, as the realization set in that so many of their sons would never return, and that the war was so far from over.

From the horror of Gallipoli emerged qualities we recognize today as part of our national character: resilience in the face of adversity, courage under fire, compassion, and an ability to endure hardship without losing humanity. The conduct and character of those early Anzacs captured the attention of the world, and from their actions, the Anzac legend was born.

ANZAC Day was first observed in 1916 to honour those who served at Gallipoli. Over time, it grew to commemorate all Australians who have worn the uniform of our nation, in every conflict and on every operation since. It is a day not of celebration, but of reflection – of honouring service, remembering sacrifice, and acknowledging the cost of war.

Today, as custodians of this history, we have a responsibility. We remember not only courage and sacrifice, but also loss, grief, and the enduring impact of war. Most importantly, it is our responsibility to pass this knowledge on to our children, so that they too can learn from the past, and be inspired by it.

Standing here in Shepparton today, it is clear to me that this responsibility is well understood. The increasing numbers of young people attending these commemorations each year tells me that when we say ‘we will remember them,’ they are not just hollow words. Thank you once again to the Shepparton RSL and thank you to everyone gathered here today. It is an honour to remember our fallen alongside you, as it is an honour to serve our great nation.

Lest we forget.

The Anzac tradition—the ideals of courage, endurance and mateship that are still relevant today—was established on 25 April 1915 when the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps landed on the Gallipoli Peninsula.

It was the start of a campaign that lasted eight months and resulted in some 25,000 Australian casualties, including 8,700 who were killed or died of wounds or disease.

The men who served on the Gallipoli Peninsula created a legend, adding the word ‘ANZAC’ to our vocabulary and creating the notion of the ANZAC spirit.

In 1916, the first anniversary of the landing was observed in Australia, New Zealand and England and by troops in Egypt. That year, 25 April was officially named ‘ANZAC Day’ by the Acting Prime Minister, George Pearce.

By the 1920s, Anzac Day ceremonies were held throughout Australia. All States had designated Anzac Day as a public holiday. In the 1940s, Second World War veterans joined parades around the country. In the ensuing decades, returned servicemen and women from the conflicts in Korea, Malaya, Indonesia, Vietnam and Iraq, veterans from allied countries and peacekeepers joined the parades.

During the 1960s and 1970s, the number of people attending the ceremonies fell as Australians questioned the relevance of Anzac Day. However, in the 1990s there was a resurgence of interest in Anzac Day, with attendances, particularly by young people, increasing across Australia and with many making the pilgrimage to the Gallipoli Peninsula to attend the Dawn Service.

Dawn Service

REMEMBERING THE FALLEN AT DAWN

As the sun began to rise, thousands gathered in Shepparton to pay their respects on Saturday, April 25.

Well before the 5.45am start, crowds formed near the Shepparton Centopah, filling the streets and parks to catch a glimpse of the march before the ceremony began on the 111th anniversary of Anzac Day.

Shepparton’s Anzac Day dawn commemorative service was led by Brian McInneny, with a welcome address by Shepparton RSL president Rob Wilkie.

The special guest speaker for the morning service was retired Australian Army Sargeant, Paul Cale, who read out the names of fifteen Australian Defence Force personnel who died in Afghanistan. They were known to him and each had their own story. These were men who had become mates. Men who did not come home from that war.

“This is the first time I have stood and spoken these names out loud like this,” he told the crowd at the dawn service.

The crowd was silent. It was a powerfrul speech and one fitting of the occasion.

As the sun began to rise, you could clearly see the size of the crowd. There were veterans among threm, now in their 70s and 80s, along with family and community wanting to honour those who have served our country.

After the service, everyone was invited to the Shepparton RSL for a traditional Gunfire Breakfast. Over 750 egg and bacon rolls were enjoyed by the hungry crowd with all proceeds going to the Anzac Appeal.

The Dawn Service observed on Anzac Day has its origins in an operational routine which is still observed by the Australian Army today.

The half-light of dawn plays tricks with soldiers’ eyes and from the earliest times the half-hour or so before dawn, with all its grey, misty shadows, became one of the most favoured times for an attack. Soldiers in defensive positions were therefore woken up in the dark, before dawn, so that by the time the first dull grey light crept across the battlefield they were awake, alert and manning their weapons. This was, and still is, known as “Stand-to”. It was also repeated at sunset.

After the First World War, returned soldiers sought the comradeship they felt in those quiet, peaceful moments before dawn. With symbolic links to the dawn landing at Gallipoli, a dawn stand-to or dawn ceremony became a common form of Anzac Day remembrance during the 1920s; the first official dawn service was held at the Sydney Cenotaph in 1927. Dawn services were originally very simple and followed the operational ritual; in many cases they were restricted to veterans only.

The daytime ceremony was for families and other well-wishers, the dawn service was for old soldiers to remember and reflect among the comrades with whom they shared a special bond. Before dawn the gathered veterans would be ordered to “stand to” and two minutes of silence would follow. At the end of this time a lone bugler would play the “Last Post” and then concluded the service with “Reveille”.

In more recent times families and young people have been encouraged to take part in dawn services, and services in Australian capital cities have seen some of the largest turnouts ever. Reflecting this change, the ceremonies have become more elaborate, incorporating hymns, readings, pipers and rifle volleys. Others, though, have retained the simple format of the dawn stand-to, familiar to so many soldiers.

Remembrance Day – 2025

Pausing to remember

At 11am on November 11, 1918, the guns fell silent on the battlefields as the Armistice was signed to end World War I.

On the same day this year, a crowd of about 200 people gathered at the Shepparton Cenotaph to remember all those who have fought and died for Australia in all wars and peacekeeping missions.

This year’s guest speaker was Ken Tsirigotis, who served in the Australian Army for 22 years. He spoke of the importance of unity.

“Remembrance Day is not only about loss and the past, it’s about the shared spirit that binds us today. It’s about what unites us as Australians.”

“It’s about how we live today, and how we carry forward the torch of respect, inclusion, and unity into the future.”

This year’s service also saw the unveiling of a plaque honouring 30 women who trained as nurses at the old Mooroopna Hospital before serving in World War I on the front line.

Retired Colonel Jan McCarthy, spoke from the heart about the important roles 2,500 – 3,000 nurses played during the war.

“Their whole role was to care for the boys. They worked in horrid conditions.”

She said the nurses served in base and general hospitals, as well as on trains and canal boats that were transporting wounded soldiers.

“World War I nurses were a magnificent group.”