As the sun began to rise, hundreds of onlookers including many young families gathered around the cenotaph in Grafton’s Memorial Park at 6am on April 25 to pay their respects during the 2024 Anzac Day Dawn Service.
Denis Benfield, Honourable Secretary of the Grafton RSL Sub-branch, was pleased to see so many children in attendance, and said Anzac Day is an important occasion for generations of Australians to come together.
After the crowd was formally welcomed, Clarence Valley Council (CVC) Mayor Peter Johnstone spoke of the history of the Dawn Service before the Very Reverand Naomi Cooke, Dean of Grafton, was invited to recite the Commemoration of The Fallen, and Leftenant Ryan Cavanagh, a Serving Officer with the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) who grew up in the region, delivered the Dawn Service Address.
“Before dawn on April 25, 1915, the first soldiers of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corp landed on the shores of Gallipoli Peninsula,” he read.
“For the next eight months, their campaign was a stalemate. “In December 1915, the Anzacs were evacuated.
“By then, around 8700 Australians, and almost 2700 New Zealanders, had been killed.
“Anzac Day has been one of the most important dates on the Australian calendar since 1916.
“At first, it gave people a chance to honour the original Anzacs, then it because a day to honour those who served in the First World War.
“Anzac Day has now become a day to honour all who have served our nation.”
The Very Reverand Naomi Cooke, Dean of Grafton, was invited to recite the Prayer for Thanksgiving and the Prayer for Peace before the crowd turned to face the west as the piper played Lament, the Ode was read, The Last Post was played by the bugler, and a minute’s silence was respectfully observed.
Onlookers were then invited to turn and face the cenotaph as Rouse was performed before the Australian and British national anthems were played, and the 2024 Anzac Day Dawn Service concluded.
Lest we forget.
This article appeared in the Clarence Valley Independent, 1 May 2024.
