To mark the time at which the first Australians waded ashore ANZAC Cove in 1915, thousands will gather to watch an ANZAC Day Dawn Service.
ANZAC Day was established to honour those who served and gave their lives in the Great War. However, in the years since WWI, Australian troops have answered the call to serve in conflicts around the world. As a result, ANZAC Day has evolved into a day of remembrance for all who have served and sacrificed their lives in conflicts that Australia has participated in.
The Dawn Service is a period of quiet contemplation, accompanied by the bugle call of the Last Post and The Ode of Remembrance.
(Courtesy of Georges River Libraries Local Studies Collection)
Plan your ANZAC Day commemoration in St George:
Arncliffe
6am: Memorial and Wreath Laying Service, Cenotaph Arncliffe Park, 71B Wollongong Road, Arncliffe.
Bardwell Park
6am: Dawn and Wreath Laying Service at the RSL, 18 Hartill-Law Avenue, Bardwell Park.
Bexley
6am: Memorial and Wreath Laying Service at the RSL Club, 24 Stoney Creek Road, Bexley.
Brighton-Le-Sands
6am: Memorial and Wreath Laying Service at the Memorial next to the RSL Club, 251 Bay Street, Brighton-Le-Sands.
Hurstville
5am – 7am: Dawn Service for members of the Hurstville area. This event will be lead by Hurstville RSL, Hurstville Salvation Army and be attended by local VIP’s and residents.
Hurstville War Memorial
272 Forest Rd, Hurstville
Kingsgrove
7am: March from the corner between Shaw Street and Kingsgrove Road.
7:15am: Service at Kingsgrove Memorial Park.
Kogarah
7.15am: March from Belgrave Street, behind Kogarah RSL.
7.45am: Service at Jubilee Oval Cenotaph, corner of English and Park Roads.
Mortdale
5.45am – 7am: Combined Annual ANZAC Memorial Dawn Service at Mortdale Memorial Park, 65 Oxford Street, Mortdale.
Ramsgate, Sans Souci
7am: March from the Sans Souci Literary Institute, 107 Ramsgate Road Ramsgate. The march will be lead by the St George & Sutherland Pipe band. It includes a colour party, local schools and sports groups, Army Navy & Air Force Cadets, South Pacific Concert band, and a catafalque party.
7.30am: Memorial and Wreath Laying Service at Ramsgate RSL Club, Corner of Chuter Avenue and Ramsgate Road, Sans Souci. Hosted by John Mangos.
NRL ANZAC Round
4pm: St George Dragons vs. Sydney Roosters at Allianz Stadium
Officiated by the Mayor of Rockdale Alderman R. W. Rathbone and the Premier of NSW Sir Robert Askin.
Photos courtesy of the Bayside Library Service Local History Collection
The trophy, a German 105mm howitzer (No 706), was captured by the 45th Battalion on 8 August 1918. The trophy was unveiled by Brigadier General Henry Gordon Bennett on Anzac Day 1921.
The Mayor of Kogarah, Alderman Francis Wheeler said at the unveiling of the trophy gun that “the sacrifices were made in the interests of freedom, not for ourselves alone, but for future generations, our Gun will stand as a monument for generations, and as a reminder to the relatives of those who fell that their sacrifices were not made in vain”.
The trophy gun stood outside the fire station in Gray Street, Kogarah until 1942, when it was sent to be scrapped.
(Courtesy of Georges River Libraries Local Studies Collection)