Macleay's nursing homes host ANZAC Day commemorations

The man taking ANZAC Day to those who can no longer march on April 25 is Kempsey Macleay RSL Sub branch advocate in training (elected pensions officer), Allan Wardrope.

"I believe that even though their bodies have become frail, they are still as entitled as any other Australian to have an ANZAC Day service and that's why I do it," Mr Wardrope said.

"A lot of the residents come up and say my father fought in WWII or thank you for coming and doing this as we can't get to the service tomorrow."

When Mr Wardrope first attended the Kempsey Macleay sub-branch after retiring he became aware an ANZAC service was being held in one of the region's nursing homes but not in all of them.

Upon noticing the apparent inequity and fearing the RSL could be left open to criticism Mr Wardrope raised the issue at a sub branch meeting and got permission to pursue the other nursing homes in the area.

"We've been doing all five now since I've been here.

"I believe we have achieved what I set out to do and that is to allow the residents to feel that they have taken part in ANZAC Day."

According to Mr Wardrope, ANZAC day is one of the days of the year that unites this country.

"The RSL, in its wisdom, saw the numbers dropping off, so we started to involve children and now it'll be there forever.

"The children march with us, students from the high schools do commemorative addresses and it instils into the children a sense of belonging to Australia.

"This is the one thing they can connect with," he said.

We are Australians. But we are defined less by our constitution and the machinery of democracy given us by the British, than we are by our values and beliefs: the way we relate to one another and see our place in the world. We are shaped by our triumphs and failures; our heroes and villains; the way as a people we have faced adversity and how as a people we will face the inevitable adversities that are coming.

Identity and what informs it are hard to define. But no group of Australians had given more, nor worked harder to shape our sense of being Australian than those 2 million men and women who wear, and have worn the uniform of the Royal Australian Navy, Australian Army and Royal Australian Air Force.

Cloaking the pool of reflection at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra in its cloisters, are the names of 102,800 Australians whose lives have been given for us and our freedoms. But in that sacrifice we have been given a greater belief in ourselves and a deeper understanding of what it means to be an Australian.

In aging and especially in residential aged care, it is essential to reflect in our facilities the values of our nation and those who contributed so much to them. Residents bring with them their most precious keepsakes and mementos of the lives they have lived. In many cases these include photographs and memories of loved ones in uniform. These repositories of love are also poignant reminders of generations of service to Australia.

Recognising the extraordinary service, sacrifice and loss sustained by Australia in Afghanistan, Mr Doug Thompson the proprietor of Thompson Health Care, commissioned artist Ewan Coates to produce a sculpture for the Australian War Memorial. It depicts the vital role played by Australian soldiers and their explosive detection dogs. Without these remarkable dogs and their handlers, Australia would have lost many more of its young soldiers than the forty one named on the Roll of Honour.

Recognising the importance of this respect for service among his residents, Thompson Health Care commissioned Ewan Coates to reproduce a smaller bronze sculpture for each of its homes. The work depicts the equality of service of man and dog, the risks taken and the dogs killed in action are inscribed onto the work. Poignantly, Sapper Darren Smith is named alongside his beloved explosive detection dog, ‘Herbie.’

Macleay Valley House, Bowral House and Abbey House now also proudly display a series of photographs of Australian service men, women and animals. Sourced from the collection at the Australian War Memorial, they span from Gallipoli to Afghanistan and across the three services. First World War nurses, young men of bomber command, infantry in Vietnam and sailors – all are reminders of what they and their uniforms represent – a life of value in the service of others and Australia. Combat engineers Sapper Darren Smith and ‘Herbie’ along with Jacob Moreland relaxing before the patrol that killed all three are among the images.

For Doug Thompson – himself a former national serviceman, it’s pretty straightforward. “These residents are of the generation that made Australia, gave us what we have, and made us who we are. This is our small way of showing respect not only for them but those that underwrite and continue to protect our freedoms.”