Trent Zimmerman (North Sydney, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

On 11 November, Australians will come together to remember those men and women who served Australia at times after war. This year Remembrance Day will have special significance, as we mark 100 years since the guns fell silent on the battlefields of Europe. It says much about Australians that, a century on, we still pause to honour those men and women who gave their lives during the First World War. We do so because we understand the incredible bravery, sacrifice and endurance of those who were prepared to defend our values in that war and in conflicts since.

Across Australia, communities will join our veterans and war widows for Remembrance Day ceremonies. In my own electorate, ceremonies will be held at 11 am at the North Sydney cenotaph in St Leonards Park, at the Garden of Remembrance in Chatswood, at the Hunters Hill RSL sub-branch memorial hall, at the Kirribilli Club on Lavender Bay and in the Lane Cove Plaza. I want to encourage residents in my area to attend one of those services, as I know the support of our community means so much to those who served.

On the North Shore of Sydney, around 10 per cent of the local population enlisted during World War I. Over a thousand men and women were never to return. Many more did come home but bore the dreadful physical and mental scars of that brutal conflict. On 11 November we will remember them all. We remain a community and nation grateful for the service of men and women who have rightly become our heroes.

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