‘It will not be forgotten’: Thousands return to the Shrine for Anzac Day dawn service

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Thousands stood still at 5am.

The Anzac Day dawn service hadn’t started yet, but crowds already filled the Shrine of Remembrance forecourt, huddled in collective silence.

Organisers estimate that 40,000 people attended in the dark on Tuesday morning – about 10,000 fewer than last year, when Victorians emerged from pandemic restrictions and could finally return to the first uncapped service in three years.

“Every Anzac Day is both historic and tragic,” Victorian Lieutenant-Governor James Angus said in his Anzac address this year. “Historic, because each year marks the anniversary of another war – another battle. Tragic, because of the terrible price paid by young Australians … to create that history – our history.

“In other words, their sacrifice is our inheritance.”

Anzac Day 2023 marks 70 years since the Korean War armistice. Australia lost 339 of its finest in the conflict.

Thousands attended the dawn service at the Shrine of Remembrance on Anzac Day.Credit: Jason South

“When our soldiers came home from Korea in 1953, they returned to a country that was still weary of war. And they didn’t get the welcome or recognition that we owed them,” master of ceremonies Justin Smith said.

“It’s not the first time we’ve made that mistake. But for us now, the ones who carry our history forward, the Korean War will only be the forgotten war if we let it.

“Because for the more than 17,000 men and women who served there, it will not be forgotten.”

The Last Post echoed once more. The Ode was read again. And thousands stood in quiet reflection as the eternal flame glowed.

RSL State President Dr Robert Webster attends the dawn service.Credit: Jason South

Premier Daniel Andrews and federal cabinet minister Bill Shorten, who represented Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, were among the official delegation at the ceremony. RSL Victoria President John Webster and Lord Mayor Sally Capp also sat silently, 108 years since the Gallipoli landings created the Anzac legend.

“The dawn service is always a moving event, and this year truly felt like Victoria recaptured the magic of the service at its fullest and most emotive,” Webster said.

Caitlin Fankhauser, the Shrine’s young ambassador, read In Flanders Fields to an audience cloaked in darkness. Just two years ago, crowds were capped at 1400 and a steel fence was erected to enforce COVID-19 restrictions.

Wreaths and poppies were laid on the Stone of Remembrance as the sun rose to the east on Tuesday. Melburnians could now see the mass of their fellow citizens stretched back towards St Kilda Road. Atop the Shrine, a lone bagpiper played with the city skyline on the horizon as the ceremony concluded.

Kelly Edgar and her mother Carol, from Preston, were among the first in the line to lay a poppy at the Stone of Remembrance after the service. The Edgars had family members who served in both world wars, and attend the dawn service every year. During the minute’s silence, Kelly thought about her family who served.

“I think about all the things that they went through and just how hard it must have been and not being super supported when they came back,” she said.

“Obviously, they didn’t know what PTSD was back then. No one spoke about the war. It must’ve been incredibly difficult.”

John Buchanan and his family made the trek from Rowville on Tuesday morning and had set up camp chairs to bask in the morning sun once the service was done.

“It was quite emotional to be here for that, to pay respects and remember them,” Buchanan said.

The family had several relatives who served in the world wars, including a surviving uncle who was a gunner on a bomber plane during World War II. When he went to the Australian War Memorial, he was overwhelmed when he saw an exhibit of his old bomber.

“When the motors started, and he heard the sound, he broke down. He was brought back to the pretty horrific memories of serving in that,” Buchanan said. “So, I think about what he went through so that we can have what we have.”

David Prior, 63, from Box Hill, was one of the last to leave the Shrine’s steps before the Anzac march got under way. He was heartened to see many young Victorians at the dawn service.

“I think about people that are gone and how lucky we are to be here,” he said.

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