Huge crowds amassed at ANZAC Day services right across the Macleay region to show their appreciation for the selfless actions of past and present service men and women.
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Ideal weather and high levels of community involvement allowed commemorations to flow seamlessly on the 102nd anniversary of the Gallipoli campaign.
President of the South West Rocks RSL Sub-branch, Paul Huggins, proclaimed the day a huge success.
“The dawn service was astounding,” Mr Huggins said.
“Well over 1000 people were there.
“If you compare that to Canberra’s 30,000 attendees, the percentage of our community that attended far exceeded the percentage of population that went to the Canberra ceremony.”
Mr Huggins said there was not a single negative on the day.
“We had wonderful crowd participation, as always,” he said.
“ANZAC day in South West Rocks is a community event.
“The local businesses, rural fire service, and the entire community really gets involved.
“To top it all off, we had beautiful weather.”
Secretary of the Kempsey Macleay RSL Sub-branch, Alan Goulder, also touted the day an outstanding success.
“It was excellent,” Mr Goulder said.
“Each year it gets bigger and it seemed to grow by even more than usual this year.
Mr Goulder, who served in the British Army as a communications operator praised the community for its enthusiastic participation and commitment to keeping the ANZAC spirit alive.
“People came from everywhere.
“The 11am service was particularly well attended.
“All of the schools were represented.
“It’s great to see the involvement of so many young people.
“The children are the future, so it’s important they see and understand what’s going on.
Mr Goulder said the day passed without incident and all of the ex-service men and women who marched ended the day in good health.
Stuart’s Point Sub-branch president Wayne Mason echoed the sentiments of his RSL counterparts.
“It was a fantastic day,” Mr Mason said.
“There was lots of young people, including every student at Stuart’s Point primary school.
“ANZAC day is a community event with terrific participation from the 400 plus people that were there.
“This year we were able to raise $1,400 for Legacy, which from a small community is outstanding.”