Results 1 to 24 of 24
  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2002
    Location
    Australia
    Posts
    24,027

    Living the ANZAC dream

    Monday 25th April is ANZAC day in Aussie. ANZAC was the name given to the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps soldiers who landed on the Gallipoli Peninsula in Turkey early on the morning of 25 April 1915 during the First World War (1914-1918).

    It's a long weekend here for most folks, and time to reflect the sacrifice made by those boys/men that gave their lives in the first World War.

    I remember being at a dawn service some time back. I was sitting on the ground there with the family (wife + 2 kids back then), and there was an old gentlemen sitting besides me. He leaned over to me and said I was living the anzac's dream. I asked him how, and he told me that most of the anzacs were very young men, who were not married etc, and they would dream about when they came home after the war, they could marry their sweetheart and raise a family, buy a house. He said that was their dream, and thoughts like that kept them going in the dark times.

    I was stunned, and sat there quietly for the next few minutes trying to take it all in. It seems so unfair that many of those anzacs didn't get the chance to marry their sweetheart and raise a family, buy a home, where as I did. I then hugged my wife and kids, and have never felt so grateful and fortunate in all my life, thanks to the sacrifice of the anzacs.

    So for all you aussies, come Monday, see if you can make it to a dawn service, and pay your respects, and honor these fallen heroes.
    WLVPN.com NetProtect owned White Label VPN provider
    Increase your hosting profits by adding VPN to your product line up

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Location
    Belgium
    Posts
    7
    Those things make you thinking. You should concider yourself very happy with a wife and children. Many of the soldiers around won't get a real chance to realise their dream.

    Think that's why choosing for the army often can be hard.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Aug 2001
    Location
    Eaglehawk, Victoria,Australia
    Posts
    5,014
    Banjo Paterson wrote as an open letter to the troops in 1915 a poem he titled "We're All Australians Now"


    Australia takes her pen in hand,
    To write a line to you,
    To let you fellows understand,
    How proud we are of you.

    From shearing shed and cattle run,
    From Broome to Hobsons Bay,
    Each native-born Australian son,
    stands straighter up today.

    The man who used to "hump his drum",
    On far-out Queensland runs,
    Is fighting side by side with some
    Tasmanian farmer's sons.

    The fisher-boys dropped sail and oar
    To grimly stand the test,
    Along that storm-swept Turkish shore,
    With miners from the west.
    The old state jealousies of yore
    Are dead as Pharaoh's sow,
    We're not State children any more
    We're all Australians now!

    Our six-starred flag that used to fly,
    Half-shyly to the breeze,
    Unknown where older nations ply
    Their trade on foreign seas,

    Flies out to meet the morning blue
    With Vict'ry at the prow;
    For that's the flag the Sydney flew,
    The wide seas know it now!

    The mettle that a race can show
    Is proved with shot and steel,
    And now we know what nations know
    And feel what nations feel.

    The honoured graves beneath the crest
    Of Gaba Tepe hill,
    May hold our bravest and our best,
    But we have brave men still.

    With all our petty quarrels done,
    Dissensions overthrown,
    We have, through what you boys have done,
    A history of our own.

    Our old world diff'rences are dead,
    Like weeds beneath the plough,
    For English, Scotch, and Irish-bred,
    They're all Australians now!

    So now we'll toast the Third Brigade,
    That led Australia's van,
    For never shall their glory fade
    In minds Australian.

    Fight on, fight on, unflinchingly,
    Till right and justice reign.
    Fight on, fight on, till Victory
    Shall send you home again.

    And with Australia's flag shall fly
    A spray of wattle bough,
    To symbolise our unity,
    We're all Australians now.


    Less We Forget

    Peace .. Laurie Hill
    www.doctorhill.com.au
    Need help? just ask The Doctor
    House calls a specialty
    If ignorance is bliss, why aren't more people happy ?

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Aug 2001
    Location
    Eaglehawk, Victoria,Australia
    Posts
    5,014
    Howard not attending NZ national service

    The Prime Minister John Howard will attend a barbeque with Australian soldiers, rather than go to New Zealand's national service at Chunuk Bair in Gallipoli tomorrow.

    New Zealand's Prime Minister Helen Clark is planning to attend the Australian service on Anzac Day at Lone Pine.

    It is understood Mr Howard's decision is likely to raise eyebrows among the large New Zealand contingent at Gallipoli.

    But Miss Clark says she does not believe Mr Howard's decision can be interpreted as a snub.

    "Well that's entirely a matter for Mr Howard, how he designs his program," Ms Clark said.

    "It so happens for us, our services at the end of a series of services so it's not practical for us not to carry right through the morning service with all the program.

    "That's what I'll be doing."

    All countries involved in the Gallipoli campaign hold their own national services, but this year, for the first time, they have been spread over two days.

    Doc
    www.doctorhill.com.au
    Need help? just ask The Doctor
    House calls a specialty
    If ignorance is bliss, why aren't more people happy ?

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Oct 2004
    Location
    Moji
    Posts
    2,107
    And here are the touching words for whom lost their lives in Gallipoli:
    From: Mustafa Kemal, founder of modern Rep. of Turkey
    Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives. You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore, rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side here in this country of ours. You the mothers who sent their sons from far away countries, wipe your tears. Your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well.
    DigiPun.ch
    An Awesome Digital Punch Clock
    Release date: October 1st

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Feb 2002
    Location
    Australia
    Posts
    24,027
    BurakUeda, yeah, that's a beautifully written tribute.

    In the next few years, I want to go visit Gallipoli. It feels like a pilgrimage of sorts.
    WLVPN.com NetProtect owned White Label VPN provider
    Increase your hosting profits by adding VPN to your product line up

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Oct 2004
    Location
    Moji
    Posts
    2,107
    You have to man.
    I went university there, lived 5 years.
    I am not an emotional man, very very few things makes me cry, but every time I visit Gallipoli, I couldn't help my eyes watering.
    DigiPun.ch
    An Awesome Digital Punch Clock
    Release date: October 1st

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Feb 2002
    Location
    Australia
    Posts
    24,027
    Originally posted by BurakUeda
    . . . I am not an emotional man, very very few things makes me cry, but every time I visit Gallipoli, I couldn't help my eyes watering.
    I don't think I'd visit there during this time though. I hear there's 20,000 aussies there, so I'd like to go off-season, if there is such a season. I'm not one for crowds.
    WLVPN.com NetProtect owned White Label VPN provider
    Increase your hosting profits by adding VPN to your product line up

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Aug 2000
    Location
    Tacoma, Washington
    Posts
    9,576
    Yep, my parents will be there at the memorial in Caloundra for it (as they are each year), then off to the RSL club for a few breakfast rums.

    http://www.caloundrarsl.com.au/conte.../anzac_day.asp

    I wouldn't know where to find a service here in Western Washington though.

    AND THE BAND PLAYED WALTZING MATILDA

    When I was a young man I carried my pack
    And I lived the free life of a rover
    From the Murrays green basin to the dusty outback
    I waltzed my Matilda all over
    Then in nineteen fifteen my country said Son
    It's time to stop rambling 'cause there's work to be done
    So they gave me a tin hat and they gave me a gun
    And they sent me away to the war
    And the band played Waltzing Matilda
    As we sailed away from the quay
    And amidst all the tears and the shouts and the cheers
    We sailed off to Gallipoli

    How well I remember that terrible day
    How the blood stained the sand and the water
    And how in that hell that they called Suvla Bay
    We were butchered like lambs at the slaughter
    Johnny Turk he was ready, he primed himself well
    He chased us with bullets, he rained us with shells
    And in five minutes flat he'd blown us all to hell
    Nearly blew us right back to Australia
    But the band played Waltzing Matilda
    As we stopped to bury our slain
    We buried ours and the Turks buried theirs
    Then we started all over again

    Now those that were left, well we tried to survive
    In a mad world of blood, death and fire
    And for ten weary weeks I kept myself alive
    But around me the corpses piled higher
    Then a big Turkish shell knocked me arse over tit
    And when I woke up in my hospital bed
    And saw what it had done, I wished I was dead
    Never knew there were worse things than dying
    For no more I'll go waltzing Matilda
    All around the green bush far and near
    For to hump tent and pegs, a man needs two legs
    No more waltzing Matilda for me

    So they collected the cripples, the wounded, the maimed
    And they shipped us back home to Australia
    The armless, the legless, the blind, the insane
    Those proud wounded heroes of Suvla
    And as our ship pulled into Circular Quay
    I looked at the place where my legs used to be
    And thank Christ there was nobody waiting for me
    To grieve and to mourn and to pity
    And the band played Waltzing Matilda
    As they carried us down the gangway
    But nobody cheered, they just stood and stared
    Then turned all their faces away

    And now every April I sit on my porch
    And I watch the parade pass before me
    And I watch my old comrades, how proudly they march
    Reliving old dreams of past glory
    And the old men march slowly, all bent, stiff and sore
    The forgotten heroes from a forgotten war
    And the young people ask, "What are they marching for?"
    And I ask myself the same question
    And the band plays Waltzing Matilda
    And the old men answer to the call
    But year after year their numbers get fewer
    Some day no one will march there at all

    Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda
    Who'll come a waltzing Matilda with me
    And their ghosts may be heard as you pass the Billabong
    Who'll come-a-waltzing Matilda with me?

    copyright © Eric Bogle
    Former Webhost... now, just a guy.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Posts
    1,585
    Monday 25th April is ANZAC day in Aussie. ANZAC was the name given to the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps soldiers who landed on the Gallipoli Peninsula in Turkey early on the morning of 25 April 1915 during the First World War (1914-1918).

    It's a long weekend here for most folks, and time to reflect the sacrifice made by those boys/men that gave their lives in the first World War.

    I remember being at a dawn service some time back. I was sitting on the ground there with the family (wife + 2 kids back then), and there was an old gentlemen sitting besides me. He leaned over to me and said I was living the anzac's dream. I asked him how, and he told me that most of the anzacs were very young men, who were not married etc, and they would dream about when they came home after the war, they could marry their sweetheart and raise a family, buy a house. He said that was their dream, and thoughts like that kept them going in the dark times.

    I was stunned, and sat there quietly for the next few minutes trying to take it all in. It seems so unfair that many of those anzacs didn't get the chance to marry their sweetheart and raise a family, buy a home, where as I did. I then hugged my wife and kids, and have never felt so grateful and fortunate in all my life, thanks to the sacrifice of the anzacs.

    So for all you aussies, come Monday, see if you can make it to a dawn service, and pay your respects, and honor these fallen heroes.
    This really made me think... its really sad.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Feb 2002
    Location
    Australia
    Posts
    24,027
    Originally posted by akashik
    Yep, my parents will be there at the memorial in Caloundra for it (as they are each year), then off to the RSL club for a few breakfast rums.
    Caloundra has the names of the fallen soldiers concreted into the pathway, along the beach. We were holidaying there come Remeberence day (11th of the 11th) and there were services at one of those memorials. I did a lot of miles on those concrete paths.
    WLVPN.com NetProtect owned White Label VPN provider
    Increase your hosting profits by adding VPN to your product line up

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Feb 2002
    Location
    Australia
    Posts
    24,027
    Originally posted by akashik
    And now every April I sit on my porch
    And I watch the parade pass before me
    And I watch my old comrades, how proudly they march
    Reliving old dreams of past glory
    And the old men march slowly, all bent, stiff and sore
    The forgotten heroes from a forgotten war
    And the young people ask, "What are they marching for?"
    And I ask myself the same question
    And the band plays Waltzing Matilda
    And the old men answer to the call
    But year after year their numbers get fewer
    Some day no one will march there at all
    WLVPN.com NetProtect owned White Label VPN provider
    Increase your hosting profits by adding VPN to your product line up

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Nov 2000
    Location
    Tasmania, Australia.
    Posts
    3,590
    Originally posted by akashik
    I wouldn't know where to find a service here in Western Washington though.
    Yeah...that'd be a shame. But at least you wont ever forget. We moved to Tasmania in January, and I've just gotten back from our local RSL's service. They put on a good turn. I picked up a few bills at two-up, and blew them on the pokies. Typical.

    Gary

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Aug 2001
    Location
    Eaglehawk, Victoria,Australia
    Posts
    5,014
    Originally posted by AussieHosts
    Yeah...that'd be a shame. But at least you wont ever forget. We moved to Tasmania in January, and I've just gotten back from our local RSL's service. They put on a good turn. I picked up a few bills at two-up, and blew them on the pokies. Typical.

    Gary
    Hi Gary

    What part of Tassie. I thought you had become a permanent Queenslander.

    That makes three from Tassie now. You anon-e-mouse and myself.

    Doc
    www.doctorhill.com.au
    Need help? just ask The Doctor
    House calls a specialty
    If ignorance is bliss, why aren't more people happy ?

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Nov 2000
    Location
    Tasmania, Australia.
    Posts
    3,590
    We're living in George Town now Doc.

    Gary

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Jul 2002
    Location
    Victoria, Australia
    Posts
    36,941
    The ANZAC tradition seems to get stronger each year. Great to see so many younguns taking part

  17. #17
    Join Date
    Feb 2002
    Location
    Australia
    Posts
    24,027
    Originally posted by anon-e-mouse
    The ANZAC tradition seems to get stronger each year. Great to see so many younguns taking part
    I was thinking about this today actually. I think it's great, but also because aussie's a very young country, with very little history. I mean what is there - British penal colony - became independent - soon to be a Republic

    ANZAC is probably the closest thing we have to Nation defining history, and we need to take hold of that, and preserve it for coming generations. I think there's only a small handful of anzacs left.
    WLVPN.com NetProtect owned White Label VPN provider
    Increase your hosting profits by adding VPN to your product line up

  18. #18
    Join Date
    Jul 2002
    Location
    Victoria, Australia
    Posts
    36,941
    The last ANZAC died a few months ago

    Spectacular Dawn Service at ANZAC Cove with the flares et al.

    Great turnout this morning at the dawn service here for such a small city

  19. #19
    Join Date
    Nov 2000
    Location
    Tasmania, Australia.
    Posts
    3,590
    Originally posted by anon-e-mouse
    The last ANZAC died a few months ago
    Alec Campbell checked out in 2002, down in Hobart.

    Gary

  20. #20
    Join Date
    Feb 2002
    Location
    Australia
    Posts
    24,027
    Originally posted by anon-e-mouse
    The last ANZAC died a few months ago
    That's wierd, cause I could have sworn I heard on the news yesterday that one of them was in a parade somewhere.

    bah.
    WLVPN.com NetProtect owned White Label VPN provider
    Increase your hosting profits by adding VPN to your product line up

  21. #21
    Join Date
    Aug 2001
    Location
    Eaglehawk, Victoria,Australia
    Posts
    5,014
    Alec William Campbell
    'the Last Sentinel of Gallipoli'

    The last entry in the roll of honour for Gallipoli was finally made on Thursday, 16th May 2002, when Alec Campbell, the last Anzac and last surviving participant of the Gallipoli campaign, died of pneumonia, aged 103. With his loss Gallipoli ceases to be a part of living memory and has truly become, as John North referred to it, 'a country of the mind'. The flags of a nation flew at half-mast, the front pages of the major newspapers were devoted to the event, and the Prime Minister cut short a visit to China in order to attend Mr. Campbell's state funeral at St. David's Anglican Cathedral in Hobart, Tasmania.

    The story of the last Anzac begins in Launceston, Tasmania, on 26th February 1899, and thus spans three centuries. Alec was the son of Marian Thrower and Samuel Campbell and grandson of Donald Campbell, an immigrant from Argyllshire, Scotland. On 2nd July 1915, two months after the landing at Gallipoli was reported in the Australian newspapers, he presented himself at the recruiting office where he gave his age as 18 years 4 months. He was at that time, he stated, a clerk in an insurance company, and had served three years in the Senior Cadets at Launceston's Scotch College. He was 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighed 135 pounds. Parental consent was necessary for anyone between the ages of 18 and 21 to enlist in the A.I.F., which should have presented an obstacle to enlistment because Alec had in fact lied about his age, raising it a full two years above his actual 16 years and 4 months. He met the problem of how to show the authorities he had his parents' permission head-on; he simply got it from them. On 30th June 1915 his mother and father signed a letter in which they give their consent to his 'enlistment for the front', unwittingly reserving a special place in history for their son, No. 2731 Private A. W. Campbell, 15th (Queensland & Tasmania) Battalion, 4th Infantry Brigade, Australian Imperial Force. He would be nicknamed and known by his comrades as 'The Kid'.

    Doc
    www.doctorhill.com.au
    Need help? just ask The Doctor
    House calls a specialty
    If ignorance is bliss, why aren't more people happy ?

  22. #22
    Join Date
    Jul 2002
    Location
    Victoria, Australia
    Posts
    36,941
    Whoa! Time flies, it hardly seems all that time since Alec died

  23. #23
    Join Date
    Nov 2000
    Location
    Tasmania, Australia.
    Posts
    3,590
    Originally posted by anon-e-mouse
    Whoa! Time flies, it hardly seems all that time since Alec died
    That's what Marita said. I asked when that Tassie fella passed away, and she thought it was only "a couple of months ago?" at first. We're getting old.

  24. #24
    Join Date
    Feb 2002
    Location
    Australia
    Posts
    24,027
    Originally posted by TheDoctor
    . . . The last entry in the roll of honour for Gallipoli was finally made on Thursday, 16th May 2002, when Alec Campbell, the last Anzac and last surviving participant of the Gallipoli campaign, died of pneumonia, aged 103.
    Ok, just saw on the news, one of 3 surviving WW1 vets was leading the parade in Perth. So there's still 3 WW1 vets left, but looks like Peter Casserly didn't participate at the anzac campaign, whereas Alec Campbell was the last the last surviving participant of the Gallipoli campaign.
    Last edited by Aussie Bob; 04-25-2005 at 08:01 AM.
    WLVPN.com NetProtect owned White Label VPN provider
    Increase your hosting profits by adding VPN to your product line up

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •