Thursday, 2 May 2024

Anzac Day

Sonja TERPSTRA (North-Eastern Metropolitan) (09:58): I rise to update the house on recent Anzac Day commemorations. This year I attended three services in my electorate, starting with the dawn service at the Croydon RSL. But the fantastic thing I just want to update the house about with that is that since the level crossing removal authority has moved the cenotaph to a more convenient location, I have to say when attending the dawn service there were more people than the eye could see. It was a wonderful thing to see so many people now coming together to support our returned servicepeople, and it was one of the biggest services that I think I have ever seen. I had to walk for about 10 minutes even to get there; I could not get a park. So that was amazing, and I just want to give a shout-out to the Croydon RSL.

The next stop was down at the Templestowe service at Templestowe RSL, at the war memorial there – again another very well attended service, with so many local community members turning out to show their support and appreciation for our many returned servicepeople.

The last stop for the day was down at Warrandyte, where I was very pleased to participate in the march. They closed down the main street and we marched from the bottom all the way up through the main street to the cenotaph, and again I would say it was another very well attended service by locals. It just goes to show that this year more people than ever are feeling the need to show their support for our returned servicepeople. I just want to thank them for their service, and I look forward to seeing them all next year.