Australia’s involvement in the First World War began on 4th August, 1914. Many who joined believed the war would be a great adventure but could not imagine the magnitude of the endeavour they were to embark on, nor the horrors they might endure.
Though many of these soldiers, sailors, airmen and nurses didn’t return to Australia, their courage and sacrifice brought a new maturity to the Australian nation and to New South Wales. During and after the First World War communities gathered together, first to mourn, then to remember and as the years wore on, to commemorate the sacrifice made by so many. Today, over 3,000 memorials stand throughout communities in NSW.
The ANZAC Schedule in Parkes:
0530 hours Dawn Service – Memorial Hill
0630 hours Breakfast Bistro – Services and Citizens Club
0700 hours Church Service – Parkes Catholic Church
0730 hours Church Service – Parkes Anglican Church
0815 hours March ‘Fall In’ outside of the Services and Citizens Club
0835 hours March Off Route: Welcome Street, Chamberlain Square Clarinda Street to Cooke Park
0900 hours Anzac Day Commemoration – Cooke Park
1045 hours Wreath Laying Pilgrimage Parkes Cemetery War Graves
1200 hours Anzac Day Luncheon – Services and Citizens Club
1700 hours Sound Retreat – Cooke Park Parkes Leagues Club
1800 hours The Ode
Temporary road closures for Monday
25 April 2016 include:
Closures from 8.45am to 9.15am in:
Welcome Street: from Short Street to Dalton Street. Clarinda Street from Dalton Street to Short Street
Closure from 8.30am to 10.30am in:
Short Street from Clarinda Street to Welcome Street.
Through the Centenary of ANZAC, a four year period of commemoration, we remember and reflect on the young ANZACs who stepped off the boats 100 years ago under a Gallipoli dawn. War has and will continue to touch the lives of all Australians either directly or indirectly, and through this day of remembrance we can continue to shed light on the sacrifices and commitment made by those who hold the security and welfare of a nation ahead of their own.
The living owe it to those who no longer can speak to tell their story for them.