The 75th Anniversary for the Victory in the Pacific Commemorative Service

Premier; Lord Mayor; Service Chiefs; Veterans; distinguished guests; ladies and gentlemen.

On this day rendered sacred through sacrifice, let us acknowledge the traditional owners of these lands and extend respectful greetings to Elders and emerging leaders. 

75 years ago, the very place where we now stand – ANZAC Square – reverberated with crowds roaring in jubilation.

At 9:30 am, Prime Minister, Ben Chifley, had taken to the radio to announce, “Fellow citizens, the war is over.” The Japanese had surrendered. 

With these words, years of pent up emotion exploded in scenes of public rejoicing rarely seen before or since.

Thousands took to the streets around us, dancing, singing, and crying.

City Hall was decked in Christmas lights in order to celebrate the end of blackouts, and it was from there that my predecessor, Governor Sir Leslie Wilson, the following day took the victory salute as the parades marched past.

A nation that had lost 39,000 brave souls lifted its voice in relief and triumph, and the sound echoes down to us three quarters of a century later.

But along with the cries of joy, we hear the sobs of anguish and despair wrung from a nation that had suffered a long and gruelling five years, eleven months and eleven days.

Over that time the theatre of war shifted from Europe to the Pacific and implacably down towards Australia.

Our State – an important staging and training ground for thousands of Allied troops – was on the front line. 

In March 1942, war had come to Queensland, with the first Japanese raid on the airfield at Horn Island, off the tip of Cape York.

Over the next fifteen months, Queensland would come under direct aerial attack a further 12 times, in Townsville, Mossman and, at the cost of many lives, at Horn Island, prompting the formation of the remarkable Torres Strait Light Infantry Battalion – 830 men drawn from the 14 Islands of the Torres Strait.

Desperate to defend lives and homes, other Queenslanders still rushed to sign up for the Volunteer Defence Corps, the Naval Auxiliary Patrol and the Voluntary Air Observers Corps.

What proud and remarkable service they all gave to country, State and nation. 

At sea, 268 lives were lost off Moreton Island when the Australian Hospital ShipCentaur was torpedoed and sunk in May 1943.

Queenslanders everywhere carried at all times the relentless burden of fear for their loved ones, along with the pain of not knowing when – or if – the hardship would end.

Today we find ourselves once more gripped globally by alarm and uncertainty.

On this 75th anniversary of the Victory in the Pacific, we do not have thousands of people commemorating here alongside us.

This is not because we do not value the peace that was so hard fought and won.

It is because we are living in the shadow of another crisis that has overtaken the world, invisible to the naked eye but nonetheless devastating in its impact.

Once again, the people of our State have been called upon to make sacrifices for the common good. And once again, the people of our State have overwhelmingly answered that call.

‘Doing our part’ looks much different in 2020 than it did in 1945, and our struggles do not compare with what our veterans endured.

But new generations of Queenslanders now have a personal understanding of sacrifice, and what it means to forego one’s own wishes in order to protect fellow citizens.

After announcing the Japanese surrender in that radio broadcast, Prime Minister Chifley went on to say, “Let us remember those whose lives were given that we may enjoy this glorious moment.” 

Each year we gather here and at other Shrines of Remembrance to do just that.

On this 75th anniversary of the Victory in the Pacific, let us rededicate ourselves to the pursuit of peace and the common good, so that we may forever remain worthy of the sacrifices of those whom we today so gratefully honour and commemorate.

Lest We Forget.