‘Biggest ever’ crowd at Cowes dawn service
WITH the COVID shackles off, the war in the Ukraine and trouble in the Pacific on their minds one of the biggest, if not the biggest crowd-ever at a Cowes dawn service turned out on ANZAC Day on Monday this week.
WITH the COVID shackles off, the war in the Ukraine and trouble in the Pacific on their minds one of the biggest, if not the biggest crowd-ever at a Cowes dawn service turned out on ANZAC Day Monday this week.
They spread back to the Cowes jetty and up towards Thompson Avenue as the dawn light broke, prompting Commander Peter Martin to draw comparisons with the annual service at ANZAC Cove, where he visited in an official capacity for the centenary some seven years ago.
Commander Martin referenced many theatres of war during his address, in the First World War and the Second World War, with special mention given to the naval battles and ships lost at sea including in the Battle of Guadalcanal off the Solomon Islands, one of the turning points of WW2.
“Is it our future to do it all again and will you stand with me?” he asked, clear reference to the war in Europe and concerns in the Pacific.
Anglican Church of Australia Rector, Reverend Jo White, chaplain at the service read a prayer for service personnel and ex-service personnel and also for the people of the Ukraine.
Newhaven College Captain Laura Vivian gave a special address on what ANZAC Day means to me, recalling her first memories of attending the Cowes dawn service with her father, and as a young girl, being moved to tears but only understanding why in recent times.
She spoke about Jim Martin, at 14 years and nine months, the youngest person to die during the Gallipoli campaign, after battling typhoid, and two Wonthaggi brothers, one who survived Gallipoli and one that did not.
Piper Callum Fisher got the service off to a sombre start and the morning concluded with the New Zealand and Australian national anthems.
“One of the best we’ve had,” said Phillip Island RSL President Chris Thompson.
“Such a lot of work goes into it, so it’s great to see people turn up in such numbers.”
Organiser of many dawn services in the past, Vietnam Veteran Greg Mead OAM declared it the biggest crowd-ever to attend a dawn service in Cowes – which says something about the times in which we live.
