Commemorating Anzac Day around the world
Around the world on Anzac Day, Dawn Services are held in many places
including the sites of some of Australia’s more-recognised battles and
greatest losses, such as:
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Hellfire Pass, Thailand
o
Isurava, Papua New Guinea
o
Sandakan, Malaysia
o
Gallipoli, Turkey
o
Villers-Bretonneux, France
Each location tells a different story of Australian courage and attending one of
these services while travelling overseas can enhance a visitor’s experience of
the country they are visiting. A reflective Dawn Service on Anzac Day at an
historic site alongside people from nations who shared our battles, or who we
fought to liberate, is a very moving experience.
Information is available on the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) website,
Enquiries should be made at the relevant Australian Embassy or High
Commission for other overseas Dawn Services.
For the latest travel advice, please visit the Department of Foreign Affairs and
Hellfire Pass, Thailand
Thailand’s glorious beaches and ancient temples attract many Australians
each year. In the Kanchanaburi region about four hours drive from Bangkok,
Australians can visit the site of extreme cruelty during the Second World
War—the Hellfire Pass Memorial Museum on the Burma-Thai railway.
Some 13,000 Australian prisoners of war were transported to Burma and
Thailand to work on the 420 kilometre long Burma-Thai Railway during the
Second World War. Some 2800 Australians died there.
Australians can gather at Hellfire Pass at dawn on Anzac Day to remember
those who never returned home to their family and friends. Around 800 people
attended the service last year. The Dawn Service is held in Konyu Cutting,
just below the museum, and the walk to the Hell Fire Pass memorial is
through an eerie darkness slightly lit by bamboo candles, following the route
of a section of the Burma-Thai railway.
The walk takes 20 minutes along a rocky and uneven track, and those with
special needs should contact the Australian Embassy in Thailand to assess
the possibility of attendance.
Following the service, breakfast is available at the museum. The museum
explains the story of why and how the railway was built and conveys the
hardships and suffering endured by so many who were forced to work in
extremely harsh conditions.
The Hellfire Pass Memorial Museum is located about 80 kilometres west of
Kanchanaburi, which is in turn about three hours drive from Bangkok.
At 11am a commemorative service is also held at the Kanchanaburi War
Cemetery, an hour’s drive from Hellfire Pass. More than 5000
Commonwealth servicemen are buried there, most of whom died while
working as prisoners on the railway.
as2009.htm
Isurava, Kokoda Track, Papua New Guinea
Attending the Dawn Service at Isurava would interest Australians with a sense
of adventure as the memorial stands at an iconic location on the historic
Kokoda Track. Walking the Track has become a pilgrimage for many
Australians, retracing the steps of Australian soldiers who fought here.
There are two options for those travelling to the Dawn Service at Isurava; an
eight-hour trek from Kokoda, or an eight-day trek from Port Moresby.
A high level of fitness is required to walk the Kokoda Track. It can be a
challenging hike through muddy, hilly terrain in hot and humid weather.
Isurava was the site of intense fighting during the Kokoda Track campaign in
the Second World War. The memorial stands in remembrance of Australians
and Papua New Guineans who fought and died on the Kokoda Track in 1942.
The site offers a spectacular view over the Kokoda Valley, framed by a perfect
v-shape of the surrounding mountains.
When the memorial was constructed, 90 tonnes of materials was airlifted by
helicopter to the site, including four Australian black granite pillars, each
weighing 3.5 tonnes, which stand like sentinels overlooking the Kokoda
Valley.
Around 300 people make the trek each year to attend the traditional Dawn
Service on Anzac Day at Isurava.
For those not able to make the trek to Isurava, a Dawn Service is held at
Bomana War Cemetery, 19 kilometres north of Port Moresby. More than
1000 visitors and locals attend the service each year.
The Bomana War Cemetery is where 3821 Commonwealth servicemen are
buried, including 702 unidentified servicemen.
as2009.htm
Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia
While Australian tourists now visit the Malaysian state of Sabah to see
orangutans and climb Mt Kinabalu, Sandakan is still synonymous with the
death marches during the Second World War.
After the Fall of Singapore in 1942, the Japanese transported thousands of
Allied servicemen to Sandakan to build an airstrip. These prisoners existed in
brutal conditions. Then, between January and August 1945, with Allied victory
in the Pacific War in sight, Japanese forces marched three groups of
prisoners 260 kilometres from Sandakan to Ranau in the infamous Sandakan
death marches. In an already weakened state, many died along the way and
their bodies were never recovered. Weak and sick prisoners unable to
continue marching were killed as, in the end, were those who completed the
desperate trek. More than 2400 Australian and British prisoners perished.
Only six, all Australians, survived.
The Sandakan death marches remain the greatest single atrocity committed
against Australians in war.
A Dawn Service is held each year at the Sandakan Memorial Park in Sabah,
adjacent to the site of the original prisoner of war camp.
The service honours those who died in captivity at Sandakan or during the
death marches. Relatives of fallen soldiers are each given a flower, then form
a circle around the memorial to lay the flowers in unison to form one floral
tribute––a very touching moment of the service.
After the service visitors can visit the interpretive centre and Memorial Park,
which paint a moving picture of life in the prisoner of war camp.
More than 500 locals and visitors attend the Sandakan Anzac Day service
each year. The Sandakan Municipal Council supports the commemorations
and a breakfast is provided following the service.
Visitors can contact the Sandakan Municipal Council ahead of attending the
Anzac Day service at Sandakan to register for other activities such as dinner
functions and cultural performances hosted by the council.
The Memorial Park is located 11 kilometres from Sandakan and is easily
accessible to visitors.
as2009.htm
Gallipoli, Turkey
Thousands of Australians travel to Gallipoli, Turkey, each year to see where
the Anzac legend was born.
Anzac Day marks the date of the first major military action fought by
Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War. They landed
at Gallipoli on 25 April, and some 8700 Australian men died and a further
19,000 were wounded before the battlefield was evacuated eight months
later.
The Anzac Commemorative Site is at North Beach, adjacent to Anzac Cove in
the Gallipoli Peninsula Historical National Park. The site opens the afternoon
before Anzac Day and by the time gates close to final entry at 3am on 25 April
thousands of Australian, New Zealand and Turkish citizens will be keeping
warm in layers of clothes and beanies and watching the overnight program of
documentaries, awaiting the dawn.
Last year more than 10,000 people attended the Dawn Service and a similar
number will be accomodated this year.
There are four services held on Anzac Day at Gallipoli;
the Dawn Service at the Anzac Commemorative Site, and following the
Dawn Service
the Australian service at Lone Pine Memorial
the Turkish service at the 57th Regiment Memorial
the New Zealand service at Chunuk Bair Memorial
The distance between Lone Pine, the 57th Regiment and Chunuk Bair, makes
it difficult for visitors to attend all services so most Australians attend the
Dawn Service and then the ceremony at Lone Pine. After the Dawn Service
most New Zealanders go on to Chunuk Bair.
What should visitors expect?
Gallipoli is an isolated, undeveloped peninsula and visitors can see the
landscape that the Anzacs faced as they landed with the Turkish defenders in
the hills above them.
Those considering spending Anzac Day at Gallipoli need to come prepared.
They need to be able to walk at least eight kilometres over steep and uneven
terrain and be outdoors in all weather.
The weather in April in Turkey can be warm during the day and extremely cold
overnight—last year the temperature dropped to below zero prior to dawn—
with possible rain and very cold winds off the sea.
There is no shelter at any of the commemorative sites and visitors will be
exposed to the weather for the entire period they are there, which is
sometimes up to 24 hours. Large crowds, limited public utilities, traffic and
security arrangements can result in long waiting periods, although visitors are
usually patient and in good cheer.
The Department of Veterans’ Affairs website has more information and a
suggested list of what you should bring at
li/index.htm#pack
All visitors arrive by coach and are dropped approximately one kilometre from
the commemorative site. The site will be open for entry from 3pm on 24 April
to 3am on 25 April. Visitors will pass through a security checkpoint and
should be aware that alcohol, weapons and sharp objects, flammable liquids
and camping equipment are prohibited.
Seating is available in stands or people may choose to sit on grassed areas.
During the evening as the site fills with visitors, all available space on the
grass is quickly filled and by the time the Dawn Service commences, there is
standing room only on the grassed areas. The event organiser, the
Department of Veterans’ Affairs, provides an interpretive program overnight,
with documentaries, period music and interviews to give visitors a better
understanding of the Gallipoli campaign as they await the dawn.
After the Dawn Service, visitors make their way up to the Australian memorial
at Lone Pine—site of the legendary battle. The walk is around three
kilometres including 1.5 kilometres of uneven dirt surface with a steep incline.
Seating in stands is provided at the Lone Pine cemetery, while some people
gather respectfully around the graves. An Australian military band performs
for visitors in the lead-up to the 10am service.
Following this service, some Australians walk to the New Zealand service at
Chunuk Bair, 3.2 kilometres up a steep bitumen surfaced road. Following
Chunuk Bair, around 1:15pm, visitors begin boarding the coaches to leave the
peninsula.
Many people leave the Gallipoli area almost immediately, missing out on a full
Gallipoli experience. Throughout the national park, small war cemeteries tell
the saga of the Gallipoli campaign––one of the most picturesque and moving
spots is Shell Green Cemetery on the edge of a steep slope overlooking the
sea. Spending another day taking a walking tour will make the visit to
Gallipoli much more rewarding. Walking tours can be downloaded from
li/index.htm
Villers-Bretonneux, France
If Gallipoli was where our nation was born, then the Western Front was our
coming of age, with some 46,000 Australians never returning home from the
trenches of France and Belgium.
For many years small villages along the Western Front have held Anzac Day
services to remember the Australians who liberated their homes from the
enemy. Now the Australian Government is joining the locals in
commemorating Australian sacrifice and service on the Western Front with an
annual Dawn Service at the Australian National Memorial just outside Villers-
Bretonneux.
Anzac Day’s Dawn Service at the Australian National Memorial in France is
the most accessible of all the services to be held at former battle sites this
year. Two hours from Paris, and 20 minutes from the Somme capital Amiens,
visitors can drive to the Dawn Service. The service starts at 5.30am, and the
site is open to attendees from 3am onwards.
The service is held at the Australian National Memorial on Route 23 between
Villers-Bretonneux and Fouilloy/Corbie, where the names of nearly 11,000 of
our dead with no known grave from the battlefields of France are inscribed.
Some 5000 people attended the first Dawn Service last year and a similar
number will be accomodated this year.
Following the Dawn Service there is an opportunity to inspect the memorial
and the Villers-Bretonneux War Cemetery. The Somme Tourism Board offers
visitors a cup of tea or coffee. Visitors can take the time to reflect on the
sacrifice represented by the battle honours of the 1st AIF etched along the
memorial walls, or find the name of a lost relative, read the often moving
inscriptions on the headstones in the cemetery, or even climb the memorial
tower which gives glorious views over the Somme countryside in the morning
light.
Each year, the townsfolk of Villers-Bretonneux and the community of
Bullecourt, an hour’s drive away, hold their own commemorations for Anzac
Day. With Anzac Day falling on a Saturday this year, visitors to the Somme
can attend all four Australian and French services in a relaxed day which
offers a glimpse of village life in Northern France.
The 9.30am service in Villers-Bretonneux itself takes place at the Monument
aux Morts in the town square. The memorial is small and poetic—a cloaked
Mother France mourning her fallen—and the bilingual service is
quintessentially French.
The village of Villers-Bretonneux has a close Australian connection. On the
night of 24–25 April 1918, six battalions of the AIF encircled Villers-
Bretonneux and liberated the town from the Germans. This action heralded
the end of the German advance in the Somme area.
References to Australia are seen throughout the village, the main street is
named Rue de Melbourne and the local school was named the L’Ecole
Victoria when it was rebuilt after the war from funds raised by Victorian school
children. On the walls of the school is proudly displayed “Never forget
Australia.”
This year the service in Villers-Bretonneux will be followed by a concert in the
community hall, which is adjacent to the town square.
After lunch, the commemorations move to the village of Bullecourt
approximately one hour from Villers-Bretonneux, the site of another display of
Australian courage in battle. The Bullecourt Anzac Day service takes place in
the village square around the village war memorial and the small ‘Slouch Hat’
memorial in the grounds of the church of St Vlaast. The church, like much of
the village, was destroyed in the war and rebuilt, and the memorial lists the
names of the British and Australian units who fought in the two Battles of
Bullecourt in April and May 1917.
After the bilingual service, the crowd walk a kilometre out of town along Rue
des Australians to the Australian Memorial Park. It is a delightful walk out to a
small memorial park set amidst farm land. A service is held in the shadow of
the Bullecourt Digger, a statue created by Melbourne sculpture Peter Corlett,
inspired by his father who fought at Bullecourt.
The Digger, wearing his battle equipment, gazes out over the fields of
Bullecourt where in April and May 1917 the Australian Imperial Forces lost
10,000 soldiers, killed or wounded, in their efforts to break into and hold part
of the Hindenburg Line. As with most of Corlett’s sculptures, it is a detailed
and emotive work of art.
Following this Australian service, attendees walk back to the village where the
Mayor of Bullecourt hosts refreshments—brioche and beer— for everyone. It
is a sociable end to a day of honouring the service of earlier generations. It is
also a rare opportunity to meet the very welcoming and friendly villagers who
have kept the Anzac memory alive for the past 91 years.
Information to help visitors planning to attend the services at Villers-
Bretonneux and Bullecourt, France, is available online at
rance2009.htm
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