Cathy McGowan (Indi, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

I was in the process of bringing my remarks to a close, considering Anzac Day in Indi.

At this part of my speech, I would like to close by making mention of my grandfather, Gladstone Robert McGowan, who enlisted in the second half of 1915, went to Egypt and then to England, and fought in the trenches of the Somme. He was an engineer. Their team were responsible for laying white tapes across no-man's land so that when the soldiers advanced they had some idea of where they were going.

Our family is so privileged to have his diaries, his maps and his stories. His legacy to his grandchildren was the importance of education. His experience of the war, which saw all material goods—homes and farms lost—left him with the commitment to educate himself and his family, believing that in whatever life presented an education would help in adapting to it. With this inspiration, I chose to be a teacher and am very grateful to Grandpa for his love, service, sense of duty and vision.

I would also like to acknowledge and thank the many public servants involved in this most amazing year of events. To the minister, Senator Ronaldson, and to his staff; and to the staff of the Department of Veterans' Affairs, who are always tactful, diplomatic and ready to answer any and every question: you did a terrific job!

The future of the commemoration of ANZAC Day is now in the hands and the hearts of our youth. In 100 years' time, when Australia is pausing to reflect on the 200 years since that Gallipoli landing in 1915, I hope that the young people of today and their children's children's children will remember the values that were embodied in Anzac, and that those will resonate still in our communities—the values of service to country; duty to family and community; and courage to fight for a better world.

In closing: to the veterans of Indi and to your families and communities, we say thank you for your dedicated service in our armed forces.

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