Ms Anna Burke (Chisholm, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

We are fortunate to live in a land of peace and freedom, a country of wealth and prosperity, which is home to a profoundly multicultural and diverse community. During the one hundredth anniversary of the landing of the Anzacs at Gallipoli Cove it is important to remember that the things we can now take for granted did not come without a cost or sacrifice. We are not a country born out of war, we are not defined by war or our involvement in it, but we are also not a country that has escaped the loss and horror of war. Too many men and women have fought and died to protect our freedom over the last century and, sadly, too many still do. While there will always be differences of opinion about what Gallipoli means to our nation's spirit and identity, the landing of the Anzacs at Gallipoli Cove, the tragic loss of life that followed and the conduct, camaraderie and fortitude they showed is forever etched into the Australian story. While not Australia's first participation in a conflict overseas, it was the beginning of sacrifice on a scale we had not yet endured.

This year, in the Centenary of Anzac, it is important to recognise the significance of the Anzac spirit, which also infuses every part of our commemoration for every fallen soldier in every conflict. The Anzac spirit belongs to every Australian, not just to those who trace their origins to the early settlers but also to those who contribute to make our country great and who freely embrace the whole of the Australian story as their own. Many are actually over in the great hall, tonight, celebrating the story of settlement—now—in this country.

In Anzac Cove in the worst of circumstances, against the greatest adversity, the Anzac soldiers found the best in themselves and each other. Like many in this place, I have travelled to Turkey and Gallipoli—not on any delegation, but as a backpacker after my university years. I have stood on that beach and looked in amazement and thought, 'Why? Why would anyone think of landing on this tiny strip next to that amazing hill?' It was quite a moving experience to be there, to see the row of graves and to actually be part of that journey. And again, to marvel at why we did it.

But the story of the Anzacs is just the first in a very long list of deeds of valour performed by the servicemen and servicewomen of Australia's military since that fateful landing—deeds of valour performed in the world war that came after the war to end all wars and repeated over and over again in the regional conflicts that have plagued us in every decade since. The length of that list of deeds is at once a source of great sadness and great pride—sadness for every occasion we have had to call upon the men and women of our armed services to put their lives on the line for our country and pride that every time they have been called their courage, dedication, camaraderie and compassion have shown no bounds. But through it all there are mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, wives and children who have lost the person closest to them. Those young men who never came home left a hole in the family and the country they fought to protect.

Like many Australians, I have a personal connection with the story— my grandfather, Edward William James Burke, served in both World War I and World War II. Luckily for me, he returned from both. Many years ago my cousin Peter Crook went to the War Memorial and got my grandfather's war records. It was amazing to read that my grandfather was borne in 1891. I had the records but I could not make head nor tail of them. They are quite difficult to decipher. Much to my chagrin, they sat in a drawer. I promised my cousin that I would try and work out what it was all about. Unlike everybody else, we do not have a letter, we do not have a medal and we do not have a picture. There was nothing left of my grandfather's service. My grandmother, whom he met in England at the demobbing at the end of World War I, a very short and unsentimental Irish woman, had thrown everything out. So, during the Centenary of Anzac I asked a very good friend of mine at the Box Hill RSL, Brian Tateson, if he would read and decipher the records of my grandfather from both World War I and II. He went off to World War I. He was not at Gallipoli—he did not sign up until 1916. But he saw the whole conflict and was at the demobbing in England. He then came home, had his 10 children, and left behind my grandmother to run the milk bar, with said children, and signed up for World War II. I don't know why he signed up for World War I, but I have a pretty good idea why he signed up for World War II!

But we had nothing, so Brian Tateson at Box Hill RSL and Gail Robertson took it upon themselves to decipher the war records and get, on behalf of my family, my grandfather's medals. Sadly, I forgot to bring them with me. I would love to be able to display them, because not only have the RSL given me my grandfather's medals, but they have had them mounted in a magnificent case for me. We are now working out who is the best person to look after my grandfather's medals. Sadly, my father is gone, but the eldest of 10 is still with us, as is the youngest. So there are four of the 10 remaining and there are something in the vicinity of 40 grandchildren, over 60 great grandchildren, and we are not sure about the great greats at this point in time. But we are incredibly proud of this service to our nation. I am incredibly grateful to the Box Hill RSL as we now have a replica of the medals, beautifully bound, so that we can reflect upon that service—not to glorify it, but to say thank you for that contribution.

One hundred years on and I am proud to say to my community of Chisholm that the commemoration of the Anzac spirit saw thousands upon thousands of local residents turn out to local services and RSLs to honour the fallen. As always, I attended the dawn service at the Box Hill RSL. It was a chilly morning but there were over 10,000 people in attendance, this at a small suburban occasion. There was another great occasion at Oakleigh RSL—I could not get there—and other great ones at Clayton and Glen Waverley. I went to some services they had held the Sunday before, and it was just an amazing experience. Both my children actually got out of bed at the crack of dawn to come with me, which was just delightful, as well.

The community also took full advantage of the Anzac Centenary grants program, which funded some important local projects. I am pleased to announce that all of these have been beautifully done and wonderfully handled. Box Hill RSL commissioned Steven Cooke to research and publish The Sweetland Project, a book chronicling the life of Stephen Sweetland and 26 other soldiers from the shire of Nunawading who lost their lives in Anzac Cove. One of the RSL members had gone around and noticed that all of the streets in Box Hill had certain names and he could not work out why until he looked at the World War I memorial and realised they were the names of all the fallen in our area. They commissioned historian Steven Cooke, who put together a great collection of those stories.

Oakleigh and District Historical Society undertook enormous research to uncover the long-forgotten Avenues of Honour, which were once prominent throughout the City of Monash. This is the pretty Melbourne tradition of planting trees to remember the fallen. They found out where they all were, and the names of the individuals.

The Friends of Wattle Park and the Wattle Park Heritage Group received funds to make significant improvements to the Wattle Park Patriotic area and Lone Pine precinct, where the annual Anzac service regularly gets one of the largest turnouts in my electorate. It is home to the original lone pine—the original cone that was brought back from the First World War. So if you are in Wattle Park please get on down and see the memorial.

The Box Hill Historical Society restored, framed and put on a display of nine historical photographs of local men who served in the First World War. The Rotary Club of Mount Waverley constructed a new arched walkway and garden area commemorating local soldiers who lost their lives. It is a wonderful community effort and I really want to thank the student from Mount Waverley Secondary College who actually designed it for the group.

Wattle Park Primary School students and mosaic artist Deb Cotter will be working two days a week during term 3 to create a First World War Commemorative Trail at the school. I am looking forward to seeing the end product. Whitehorse Council will be joining with local primary school students to create a field of ceramic poppies on the lawn in front of Box Hill Town Hall, in time for Remembrance Day. It is a historic town hall and this will look magnificent. Oakleigh Carnegie RSL has completed a major restoration of the Roll of Honour at the RSL. I encourage everyone to take a moment to appreciate the newly restored board. One of the fallen from the area was actually left off the original board, which was an oversight as his family are still connected to the area. So his name has been honoured as part of this. If you get a chance to go down to the Oakleigh RSL drop in for a look. There is great music and food to be had there, as well.

These are important local commemorations. Each will tell stories of individual sacrifice and heroism by people whose names might otherwise be lost to history—something that we can never let happen. There is no glory in war, no victory that does not feel hollow and no price paid that was not too high. Every life lost, whether friend or enemy, is a tragedy. We yearn for the day when such tragedies need not occur.

If we are to take any solace from these tragedies, it is that in most cases, nations who once met in war can now call each other friends. There is no better way for us to continue to honour the sacrifices of our service men and women than to appreciate and nurture our way of life right here in our community, contributing to it with our energy, our vision, our time and our care. Now and for all time, we will remember them. Lest we forget.

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