Nickolas Varvaris (Barton, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I cannot think of a date in our calendar year that unites us as a nation more than that of Anzac Day. Each year on 25 April schools and RSL clubs around Australia commemorate our fallen soldiers. And as a federal member of parliament it is deeply humbling to be able to honour Anzac Day with students, teachers and veterans, past and present, within my electorate of Barton. Anzac Day is a day of special significance to the Australian people. It is not a day of celebration but rather a day of remembrance, when we honour the sacrifices our forebears have made for the freedom that we all enjoy today.

The Gallipoli campaign remains one of the most brutal efforts in our military history, one in which our nation paid a heavy price. It was our first major commitment with the allied forces on an international scale, against the Ottoman Empire. For a country that had a mere population of just under five million people, more than 417,000 Australians volunteered to serve in the First World War. By November 1918 more than 61,000 had made the ultimate sacrifice and more than 150,000 had been listed as casualties. The shores of Gallipoli proved to be a place of high fatality for the many volunteers who ventured into the unknown. Young men, fathers, brothers, cousins, uncles and nephews faced terrible circumstances, endured unspeakable hardship and displayed courage and mateship during this time. Yet the worst of times for our soldiers also brought out the best in them. Their values and their commitment to one another and to King and country have come to define us as a nation.

The Anzacs fought at Gallipoli for eight gruelling months, and whilst we cannot ask them what they saw or how they felt, we are all indebted to them forever for the legacy that they have left us. The annual Anzac Day dawn service allows all of us to commemorate those who have lost their lives or their loved ones, and those who fought to protect the values that we all hold dear. Gallipoli was a national calamity—a source of much heartbreak for our meagre population at the time. I note that our regional and rural areas were hit particularly hard by the First World War, with many leaving in droves to serve as soldiers, sailors and airmen. The collective efforts of Australians were not in vain. One hundred years on, we feel enormous gratitude, albeit sadness, when we reflect on the terrible ordeals our forebears faced. But it is undeniable that our national identity and our shared values were fortified in the aftermath.

As a Greek Australian representing the diverse electorate of Barton, the significance of the Gallipoli campaign is felt every year on two occasions, 4 March and 25 April. For the many Greek Australians who are descendants from the island of Lemnos, 4 March is particularly poignant to them. However, the Gallipoli campaign was essential in establishing Australia's relationship with Greece. The arrival of the all-volunteer Australian Imperial Force at Lemnos on 4 March 1915 helped our Anzacs prepare for the Gallipoli campaign. I had the great honour of representing the Prime Minister at this year's Lemnos centennial dawn service at Martin Place cenotaph in Sydney, to honour the vital contribution of all the nurses of No. 3 Australian General Hospital and No. 2 Australian Stationary Hospital. Lemnos, in the deep blue Aegean Sea, hosted hospitals and recovery camps, and housed depots for the Gallipoli campaign. Over 50,000 troops passed through Lemnos, where civilians gave allies their donkeys as water carriers, ferried supplies in small boats and operated a canteen on the landing beach. The allied and coordinated efforts of Lemnos and Australia are forever entwined by the events of World War I, and today 148 Australians are buried at Lemnos in one of two Commonwealth war graves. I want to take this opportunity to thank the Lemnos Association of New South Wales for hosting the 100 year commemoration service at Martin Place in Sydney, in addition to the special commemorative program in honour of the Centenary of Anzac.

I want to make special mention of the coalition's Anzac Centenary grant, which was put to terrific use in the Barton electorate. The Arncliffe Men's Shed, as part of the Men's Sheds Association, used the funding to restore an old Arncliffe Methodist Church honour board which contained the names of servicemen from the St George region. This honour board, made from blackwood and maple, was found in a terrible state abandoned in a garage. Through the men's shed's tireless efforts over 10 months, it was restored to its former glory. None of this would have happened without Keith Boog, an outstanding resident from the Arncliffe Men's Shed, who has been an integral aspect of the men's shed's project and the special honour board restoration project. The board was donated to Rockdale City Council and now proudly hangs in Rockdale Town Hall for the community to see. I also acknowledge the members of the Barton Anzac Centenary grants committee, chaired by Emanuel Comino AM, and led by Major-General Raymond Sharp AO, RFD, ED, along with Warwick Cary ESM, Councillor Rita Kastanias, Councillor Stephen Agius and Mr Jack Passaris OAM, for their contributions in seeing the value in granting $7,000 for this important project.

Regrettably, I could not attend the Anzac Day services at all of the RSLs in my electorate this year. However, I acknowledge the huge effort they all invested in making this year's Anzac Centenary a special one for the community. I thank the organisers and sub-branches of Kingsgrove RSL, Earlwood-Bardwell Park RSL, Bexley and Arncliffe RSL, Brighton-le-Sands RSL, Kogarah RSL, Kyeemagh RSL, as well as Rockdale RSL and Ramsgate RSL for the services that they provided. I was delighted to be invited to the Ramsgate RSL club along with my son, John Varvaris, to commemorate the landings at Gallipoli during their dawn service, whilst John played the Last Post. I also note that Ramsgate RSL Club organised a special line-up of events in the lead-up to Saturday's dawn service, including a special photographic exhibition. Thank you to the outgoing president of the sub-branch, John Slender; new president Noel Callaghan, and Frank Crews and the dedicated staff at Ramsgate RSL for hosting the dawn service. I was very proud to attend this as a federal representative for Barton and see the many families there in the early morning as we honoured the Anzac spirit.

I am very proud that school students in Barton and right across Australia are taught the significance of Anzac Day to honour our fallen Anzac soldiers. I witnessed this during my many Anzac Day school visits, where students and teachers organised services to honour those who fought for our nation 100 years ago. Pupils at Clemton Park Public School, St Francis Xavier Catholic Primary School, St Thomas More Catholic Primary School, Kogarah Public School, Rockdale Public School, James Cook Boys High School and Sydney Technical High School displayed a deep sense of respect for our veterans, past and present. Indeed, mateship, hard work and selflessness are all values shared by the teachers and pupils of these schools, and I was honoured to be able to speak to them about the importance of Anzac Day. It is important that each year we pause to remember the deeds of all those who fought over the last 100 years to ensure our freedom. Their spirit has defined our national psyche; it has redefined us as proud Australians with shared values. The 100th anniversary of the landings at Gallipoli allows all of us to re-examine the simple things that are easy to take for granted: the opportunity to go to school, to go to work, and to live in peace and freedom. It is by the Anzacs' struggle that such things are possible.

Lest we forget.

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