Wilcannia — Remembrance Day, 2024
Standing alone near the table and seats adjacent to the footpath, a visitor, dressed in bike leathers, was very attentive to the Remembrance Day service. Following the service, as locals and other visitors gathered around the morning tea table, she remained alone and still.
When approached, with a suggestion she join us for a cuppa, she said no thanks, she had just had coffee at the café, had noticed the gathering and asked the café staff what was going on in the park. She was told it was the War Memorial and the Remembrance Day service was what was happening.
Her story – “I am from Germany, and I have wanted, for many years, to come to a service like this. I have lived and travelled in Australia for a long time, and this is the first chance I have had to say thank you to all your boys who died defending this incredible, welcoming country. I want to say to your town that I am sorry my country started the wars; my life would have been very different in all ways if my country had won those wars. Please say thank you to the man who spoke too, he must have been in the army, it was a lovely service.” With that she said she had to be on her way and asked to make sure that her thanks were passed on.
Our guest speaker had been James McTavish, who served as an infantry officer in the Australia Army for 21 years and was here as a member of the Wilcannia Weir Independent Review Panel, along with chair Geoff Wise, panel member Stuart Khan and observer, Jacqui Hickey from the Murray Darling Basin Authority (MDBA). James’s speech, built on the opening address in the program, brought to the gathering’s attention the suffering and grieving that the young widows, fatherless children and families of serviceman still experience because of Australia’s involvement in modern wars. James gave specific examples from his personal experience, from his time serving in Somalia, and others from the more recent conflicts in the Middle East. James commented that the visitor’s thoughts were a unique perspective on the country’s war experience.
Thanks to everyone who attended and contributed to the largest Remembrance Day Service in recent years; Russell Martin, flag duties, Sister Elizabeth for her prayer, Zahli who read the poem “In Flanders Fields”, wreath layers Christian Stang, David Clark, Greg Hill (CDSC) Central School student Stevie-Lee and St Therese’s students Olivia Whyman and Jack Quayle and to all who pitched in to set up and pack up.
This article appeared in Wilcannia News, December 2024.