Students' ANZAC Commemoration Ceremony

Assistant Minister Mark Ryan MP, and Mr Glen Elmes MP, representing our Premier and Opposition Leader; Councillor Murphy representing our Lord Mayor; senior Defence Force representatives in Queensland. Good morning ladies and gentlemen and a particular welcome to the students and teachers who have joined us in Anzac Square this morning to honour the servicemen and women of Australia and New Zealand, past and present.

Last Anzac Day marked the centenary of the landings of the ANZAC forces on the rugged shores of the Gallipoli peninsula. There, the Anzac spirit – of heroism, courage, grit and determination – is said to have been born.

Gallipoli was not a victory for the ANZAC forces.

But that eight month, ill-fated campaign – where 26,000 Australians and almost 8,000 New Zealanders were killed – had such an impact on our nations, our citizens sought to preserve the Anzac spirit, their legacy, on the very first anniversary of the landings… Anzac Day.

Our first Anzac Day, in 1916, here in Brisbane, was organised by the ANZAC Day Commemoration Committee, with Canon Garland as its first secretary. The Committee was formed following a public meeting of citizens to afford the fullest recognition of the bravery and sacrifice of the men who stepped ashore in the cold dawn at Gallipoli.

Queenslanders, Australians, have never forgotten their heroics acts, nor those who have defended our freedoms and liberties in other conflicts. We continue the powerful evocation of remembrance a century on at solemn commemorations like today, and on Anzac Day, each year.  

But 2016 marks more than the centenary of our Anzac remembrance services.

In 1916, the ANZACs who had been withdrawn from Turkey to Egypt, together with reinforcements from Australia and New Zealand, were sent to the Western Front, in France.

A century ago this year these forces fought some of the fiercest battles of the Great War, in the Somme offensive. The ANZAC forces suffered almost unimaginable losses in this campaign.

On the 19^th July 1916, 7,000 Australian soldiers attacked German positions at Fromelles in northern France. That day long battle resulted in 5,500 Australian casualties.

Some days later three Australian Divisions attacked the Germans at Pozieres. That battle raged for six weeks. Tragically little was gained and Australia suffered another 23,000 casualties.

This square, with its Shrine of Remembrance, its Shrine of Memories and Crypt below, together with individual memorials spread throughout the park, is a permanent reminder of the tragedy of war and the sacrifices that have been made by our military.

I would encourage you to take time to inspect the interior of this impressive Shrine of Remembrance, where an eternal flame burns to remind us that our veterans will never be forgotten.

Look at the inside top coping where the names of major Australian battles are listed.

There you will see alongside seven other Western Front sites, Pozieres – the site of the bloodbath I have just mentioned.

This is a permanent reminder of the senseless loss of life and the horrific injuries inflicted on our youthful diggers in just a few weeks, a century ago.

But as you know, the Great War was only one of the conflicts in which Australians have served.

There are memorials in this precinct to the eighty nine Queenslanders who fell during the Boer War in South Africa – an early conflict that involved Australians before we were even a Federation; a statue of a nursing sister tending to a wounded digger reminds us of the service of almost a million men and women in World War 2; and the South West Pacific Campaign memorial showing two soldiers and a young Papua New Guinean reminds us of just how close World War Two came to our shores.

There are numerous others – all equally important – and there will be more to come, ensuring future generations do not forget the sacrifices made in recent conflicts, such as Iraq and Afghanistan.

Please take some time to look at these monuments and to reflect on the deeds and sacrifices made by service men and women, not only of yesteryear, but those serving our country today, in Australia and in off shore operations, and in places such as Afghanistan, Iraq, the Middle East, and as far afield as South Sudan.

By doing so, we rededicate ourselves as worthy beneficiaries of their sacrifice, and we continue the enduring project of remembrance, entrusted to us all, ensuring that Anzac Day remains a day of gratitude and reflection for all Australians, for another 100 years.

“Lest we Forget.”