Andrew Nikolic (Bass, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is very rare for one word to be enough to arouse or inspire a nation, and 'Gallipoli' is one of those words. For Australia, Gallipoli is a kaleidoscope of memories and emotions, of debates and reflection and of endless analysis. It is all at once a single word, a national story, an enduring legacy. The Anzacs at Gallipoli were the initial heart and soul of Australia's federation because they were our first national effort after the Federation of states a mere 14 years earlier.

Gallipoli was our first national commitment to a major international cause, and war historian CEW Bean wrote that Gallipoli was responsible for Australia becoming fully conscious of itself as a nation. Before Gallipoli Australians might have described themselves as Victorians, Queenslanders, New South Welshmen or Tasmanians but perhaps not Australians. Gallipoli changed that. It changed Australian attitudes.

When we think of the place, Gallipoli, it is revered for the national sacrifice and tragedy that occurred there; but Australians also have every right to be proud of the fact that our national contribution was so swift and professionally competent. In just eight months, Australia raised and trained the Australian Imperial Force to participate in one of the most complex operations in war—an amphibious assault onto known and defended enemy positions on the other side of the world. It was a staggering technical achievement which has not been matched in our nation's military history. But the landings at Gallipoli foreshadowed more trials ahead. The great Allied summer offensive followed, including the Australian battles of Lone Pine and The Nek and then an eventual, near-faultless withdrawal conducted in early December 1915. These occurred in appalling conditions against a brave and resourceful enemy. The Australians fought well and cleanly, coming to respect their Turkish opponents, who reciprocated that respect. Eight thousand Australian deaths were recorded just at Gallipoli; a further 28,000 Anzacs were wounded in an area about the size of the Launceston town centre.

But something else died at Gallipoli: the fanciful notion that some harboured that war was about colour, pageantry, movement and the tactics of the Napoleonic battlefield. Advances in technology during that period changed the nature of war. We saw inventions like the machine gun, barbed wire and tanks and, later, poison gas, which turned the Great War into one of poison, position, stagnation and death. It is fair to say that no single event in Australian history has cast such a long, dark shadow or projected the nation into a more pronounced period of reflective gloom. The Australian novel My Brother Jack perfectly captures the enduring loss and grief in so many Australian homes for at least the next two generations. It was a period of intense and often lonely suffering behind the privacy of family and dimly-lit, closed homes.

But we must also recall those who followed our first Anzacs: the Australian Light Horse in Palestine; our troops in France where 100,000 of our countrymen fought and lived in mud and trenches; and our World War II veterans in campaigns in North Africa, Syria, Greece, Crete, and places closer to home like the Kokoda Trail. Since then, there has been Korea, Malaya, Borneo and Vietnam; the Gulf War; a variety of United Nations and Multinational Force operations; Timor, the Solomons, Iraq and Afghanistan. As I said in my first speech in this parliament, there have been many highlights in my 31-year career in the Australian Army, but on the top of that list are the occasions I have had to lead the world's best soldiers in peace and war. My military career encompassed many postings around Australia and I had the privilege of living and working in places like Israel, Syria, Lebanon, the Philippines, the United States, Afghanistan and Iraq. I consider myself fortunate to have served our country on operations, mainly because of the quality of the Australian service men and women that served with me. Their quality, character and commitment have enhanced our enviable international reputation. They have added new chapters to our proud military history. People often ask me: 'How have our service men and women since Federation kept rising to the many challenges they are confronted with?' The answer, I believe, lies in the commitment they make to Australia and to each other. These are people who personify the word elan, which is about a collective confidence—a group decision to keep going and not give in; to look after your friends and put their interests and the needs of your country before your own. Those first Anzacs showed us all of those qualities. They showed us that brotherhood is sharpened by adversity. We see that in the film Gallipoli, during the carnage of the final attack. In the book The Broken Years by Bill Gammage, on which the film was based, he writes:

And when the command came, the front rank left the trenches and charged forward into withering fire … and was mown down.

The second rank followed.

The young Lieutenant turned to the third rank and said:

Well men, in a few seconds we will all be in paradise—and I will lead you.

At Gallipoli in the training camps and hospitals these young soldiers exhibited the traits and qualities which are acknowledged as part of our uniquely Australian character: courage, resilience, compassion and, above all, mateship. If the spirit of Anzac lives today, and I believe it does, it is founded in the acts of the men and women whose sacrifice we honour today. Our service men and women fought in the belief that their contribution would help to make a better world and what better way to honour their sacrifice than by striving for our best in our daily lives. In the words of a previous Prime Minister, John Gorton:

The foundation stones have been laid in war, so in peace we continue to build.

As individuals our efforts may often seem insignificant, but collectively we can all contribute to a better Australia.

Like us, many of the first Anzacs could trace their origins back to other countries and different cultures. From Gallipoli onwards, our Australian identity asserted itself with increasing strength. The lesson is that where we come from is of far less importance than what we become.

But we should also reflect on the resourcefulness shown at Gallipoli, which was carried forward by many of its surviving veterans. When you think of trusted brands in Australia, two immediately come to mind. The first is Anzac and the second is Qantas. It is wonderful for me, as someone who proudly wore the Australian uniform for over 31 years, to recall the unique connection of these iconic symbols, for it was two Australian Anzacs at Gallipoli who conceived of and later founded Qantas after the war in Longreach Queensland. They were, of course, Launceston-born Sir Hudson Fysh and Paul McGuinness. Both men finished the war as decorated heroes. Gallipoli, and indeed war in general, affords a rich vein of such remarkable vignettes.

In closing, let me briefly reflect on some occasions over the last 30 years, while serving in places like Israel, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Afghanistan where I had the opportunity to experience Anzac Day amongst World War I graves thousands of miles from home, many of which cannot be easily visited today. Each precious moment epitomised the strength of commitment that must have been required to put up with such extraordinary hardship, far from home and loved ones.

Unlike other battles, that glorify generals and diplomats, Gallipoli and the Anzac legend honours these ordinary Australians who did extraordinary things. I had the chance to reflect on their stories founded on human triumph against the odds and of courage, sacrifice and ingenuity. It is right that we remember them in this parliament today and that we also remember our other veterans over the last 100 years who have sacrificed so much for Australia. Their example is a challenge to us all to embrace the Anzac legacy of personal sacrifice, devotion to our work, mateship, team spirit and an unshakeable belief in the future of our country. Lest we forget.

Justine Elliot (Richmond, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Anzac Centenary is a milestone of very special significance to all Australians and one that been rightly recognised and commemorated around the nation and around the world. It is important that we as communities remember the centenary of Australia's involvement in the First World War. The First World War and the devastating loss at Gallipoli forged our Anzac legend, shaped our national identity and helped define our national character. Indeed, on Anzac Day this year throughout the nation hundreds of thousands of Australians turned out to pay their respects.

In my electorate of Richmond, like elsewhere, the response was overwhelming. Today I would like to speak about the local projects from the Anzac Centenary grants and how our community commemorated the Anzac Centenary. I recognise the great work of many individuals, RSLs and community groups who contributed to this. The main aim of the Anzac Centenary grants was to encourage all Australians to reflect upon and learn more about Australia's military history and its impacts upon our nation, our communities and our families.

During the Anzac Centenary we remember not only the original Anzacs of World War I; we also commemorate more than a century of service by Australian service men and women. The Anzac Centenary program encompasses all wars, conflicts and peacekeeping operations in which Australians have been involved. Due to the significance of the Anzac Centenary, the Anzac Centenary Local Grants Program was developed. It was designed to assist community groups to commemorate the service and sacrifice of Australian service men and women, and it gives all Australians the opportunity to honour the service of those who have served our country.

The grants program provided $125,000 for each federal electorate around the country to mark the centenary of the First World War. That funding meant that local communities could decide for themselves the best way for them to commemorate the Anzac Centenary. In my electorate of Richmond, I invited the local RSLs to play a central role on the committee to determine the appropriate allocation of the funding. It was wonderful to see the response from the RSLs; it was very enthusiastic and immediate. The committee was convened and chaired by Dr John Griffin of the Tweed Heads and Coolangatta RSL Sub Branch. The committee members were: Kevin Sharpley from Far North Coast Legacy, Violet Hill from the Byron Bay RSL Sub Branch, Kevin Cheetham from Murwillumbah RSL Sub Branch, Paul Smith from Mullumbimby RSL Sub Branch, Hugh Aitken from Kingscliff RSL Sub Branch, and Col Draper from Bangalow RSL Sub Branch. I would especially like to acknowledge the great guidance and work of the chair, John Griffin, who did an outstanding job.

There was such great diversity of projects right across the community and I would like to highlight the successful applications and projects, starting with the largest project. The Tweed Heads and Coolangatta RSL Sub Branch received $53,000 to host a re-enactment of the Gallipoli landing on Anzac Day this year. This indeed was a worthy project of quite grand proportions and it gained a huge amount of local attention and enthusiasm. It was an enormous undertaking. When we were first talking about this project, word spread and we thought that maybe 10,000 people would attend. On the day, in fact, in excess of 15,000 attended. Prior to the traditional dawn service, with the backdrop of the Jack Evans Boat Harbour at Tweed Heads, the re-enactment of the landing at Gallipoli occurred, involving the local surf lifesavers acting in the role of the soldiers arriving on the shores of Anzac Cove. There was a spectacular and very moving light and sound show occurring whilst the soldiers were landing. The project also had live video feeds of the event strategically placed around the park so that all of the thousands in attendance were able to properly view the occasion. I commend everyone involved. It was an enormous undertaking and it was a very important event for the area.

The Cudgen Public School received over $21,000 to upgrade the war memorial at the front of their school. Cudgen School has a long and proud association with the Anzac Day ceremonies and the local community. They have worked closely with the Kingscliff RSL over the years with respect to this particular project.

The Byron Bay RSL Sub Branch received $39,400, and their project was to refurbish the existing First World War memorial gates and build a sheltered cenotaph as well. There were also very generous offers of in-kind support and donations from the community. One of the many contributions came from students at Byron Bay High School, Byron Bay Public School and St Finbar's Primary School, who researched the soldiers whose names are on the memorial gates.

The Mullumbimby RSL Sub Branch received over $2,000 and they put together a proposal for a wonderful art exhibition which engaged World War I descendants and local schoolchildren. A local ceramics artist, Deborah Gower, conducted workshops, and the artwork was inspired by memorabilia sourced from the relatives and descendants of Mullumbimby soldiers. One of the major artworks was made from wooden crosses donated by the Australian War Memorial. These contained messages written by World War I descendants and also children from Year 6 at St John's Catholic School and Mullumbimby Public School. It was a great hands-on project that involved a lot of locals.

Another wonderful initiative of the Mullumbimby community was the application made by the Drill Hall Theatre Company, who received $3,705. The drill hall itself, it is interesting to note, may possibly be one of the only remaining buildings in the Richmond electorate to have been built specifically for the training of soldiers for World War I. The Drill Hall Theatre Company is commissioning a play called The Signaller, which is about a young soldier who enlists in the Australian Light Horse just before meeting and falling in love with his young wife.

The Murwillumbah RSL Sub Branch received over $2,000 to compile a roll of honour for those who served in World War I. The roll consists of those who originated from the local area and served with the AIF during World War I. That project will be displayed at various locations throughout the community.

The diversity of projects really reflects the diversity and interests of the communities, and it was truly inspirational to see the way in which the RSL clubs worked so well with the wider community, community organisations and the schools. Everyone really embraced this great opportunity to commemorate the Anzac Centenary

That is reflected in the very diverse and poignant events that were held. Many people have reflected upon what a success it is, has been and will continue to be, as we commemorate the Anzac Centenary. The array of projects really demonstrates the uniqueness and vibrancy of our region but it also demonstrates the very strong collective will to remember and reflect upon those lives lost during war, during World War I and indeed through all wars. It was an opportunity to reflect upon all those servicemen and women who have served our nation in many conflicts and many events.

I think it was most important, in terms of the Anzac Centenary grants in my electorate, that everyone worked so closely and so well together to ensure that the respect, particularly for our Anzac legends and our Anzac legacy, continues to be handed down to younger generations. Many of these projects really did involve those younger generations, and I commend them and the schoolchildren who were involved.

Throughout all of these events, as we remembered and reflected upon the Anzac Centenary, the Anzac legend and all those servicemen and women who served our country, our thoughts are always today with those Australians who are serving our nation. We acknowledge and thank them for their service.

In conclusion, it was an absolute privilege to be involved with the Anzac Centenary Local Grants Program and to remember and reflect upon those who served and sacrificed so much.

Luke Simpkins (Cowan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It was a big day for all of us on 25 April. It is hard to dispute that Anzac Day is unequivocally the most important day for our country. When we look back 100 years—and it was not the start of the war; there were things that took place before 25 April—it was that moment when this country stood up together. People rose collectively, leaving aside the parochialism of the colonies, as one people and one nation. That is why it is such an important time for us and why it is the most important day of each year. It was just 14 years earlier that Australia had become a nation, and here was a challenge where people rose to the occasion.

A lot has been said about why our young men signed up in such great numbers. The AIF was formed and went overseas. There might have been something of the grand adventure. There might have been some wanting to prove themselves to the homeland. I think we need to acknowledge that everybody that went would have known somebody from the homeland—from the United Kingdom, from England—and they had great concerns about what was going on, the series of events, the Serbian Gavrilo Princip stepping out from the coffee shop in Sarajevo and firing two shots at Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife. Four or so years later, millions of people were dead, including 61,000 Australians and a further 150,000 Australians were wounded. From a small event in the Balkans, such carnage followed.

Australians all across the country decided that they wanted to be part of something, that they thought this country should act collectively. As I said before, it did not just begin on Anzac Day. The first shots were fired to try to dislodge the Germans from German New Guinea. We sometimes forget that. Then in November 1914 there was HMAS Sydney's victory over the RMS Emden in the Cocos Islands—the first great victory of World War I for Australian forces.

Despite those things that happened earlier, the collectiveness of the whole country—people signing up, people being recruited to go and fight—actually culminated on that first day in Gallipoli, when the troops had come across from Lemnos and came forward in the boats across such difficult ground: the raking fire, the difficult terrain, and the great challenges. That was the reality of war. It was not the home-by-Christmas viewpoint of some people; it was the challenges of death, carnage and destruction. That, of course, affected this country for years to come. When you have some four million people, and 61,000 of your finest young men die and 150,000 are wounded, the impact of that goes on for generations. Of course that was felt by every country that participated in the war.

Sometimes people talk about the futility of war. I think it is wrong to talk about war in those terms. It is true that it is not a desirable thing. We always hope for a grand peace—a greater peace and tranquillity in the world. But the reality is that, throughout history, there has been evil in this world that must be stopped, and sometimes the only way to stop it is by fighting. There is good in the world, and it is worth fighting for.

So when you look at the history of this country and the military history of this country, we have seen Australians rising to the occasion and leaving these shores—and sometimes fighting on these shores as well—to fight for a better world. I think that we should be proud of what they have done. Look at World War II, for instance. Of course, following World War I, no doubt there was an aversion in Europe to confronting Adolf Hitler—a man who came to power in 1933 and four years later saw the final breaking of the Versailles treaty—but, if people had stood up and confronted Hitler at that time, how many millions of people could have been saved?

Of course, there would still have been a war, but how many millions could have been saved?

Then you can look forward beyond those times, from the evil that was the Nazis—the evidence of that brutality that I personally have seen at Auschwitz—to now, to what IS, Daesh, is doing. It is the same sort of evil. I sometimes wonder when people say, 'Let's not become involved in that,' if people were probably saying that when Hitler was rising as well. There are people doing evil, subhuman things in the world. It was the Nazis in the thirties and early forties; it is now IS and, in Africa, Boko Haram. These people are not human. They need to be confronted, they need to be defeated and in fact they need to be destroyed. There is evil in this world. There has always been evil in this world and someone has to stand up and fight it.

I think that Australians have always acknowledged that sometimes there is no other way. Nobody likes war. Nobody wishes for war but, ultimately, if you have to stop people doing the wrong thing and taking advantage of the weak—murdering, killing and abusing—sometimes there is just no other way.

When I looked across my electorate on the days leading up to Anzac Day I was so very proud not just of my electorate of course but of the whole country. People have risen to the occasion to acknowledge the sacrifice and the belief in good causes on Anzac Day and on those days leading up to it. A dawn service on 24 April at a local primary school—Marangaroo Primary School—that had sought a Commonwealth grant for the Centenary of Anzac created a flag station memorial for Anzac Day. What a great example—there were hundreds of people turning out, not on Anzac Day but actually turning out on the 24th itself.

There were little children there at 5 o'clock and 5.30 in the morning, along with their parents and community members. There was a great display in the undercover areas. I think it was just an outstanding example, as we have all seen outstanding examples, of Australians paying great tribute and commemorating the sacrifice of so many Australians, both men and women, over the period of Australia as a nation.

I think that we can sometimes look upon things that happen in this country—particularly with young people—and sometimes we might generalise about the problems that they have. But you look around the country and you see how many young people, children and people in general have risen to the occasion and demonstrated that great respect for the commemoration. It is not a celebration, of course, on Anzac Day but a wonderful commemoration of people who believed in the cause and who were prepared to die for it. I think it is just a great example of how great this country really is.

You do not need to travel very far in this world to realise that we have a lot going for us. There are examples such as our commemoration of Anzac Day and our ability and belief in going and fighting for good causes, peace and justice. These are the things we should always try to achieve.

Lest we forget.

Sharon Bird (Cunningham, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Vocational Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is a privilege to have the opportunity to respond to the remarks of the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition on the Centenary of Anzac commemorations that have been held across the nation and, indeed, internationally last month.

Like many individual Australians, for me it is a time of reflection on the service and sacrifice of so many Australians and their families as a result of the intensity and devastation that the first great world war wrought on them as individuals, as families and as communities. It is a time to reflect on the profound impact that war, and the Gallipoli campaign in particular, had on shaping the character and values of a young Australian nation. It is not, and never should be, a time for celebrating or glorifying war, and this is not what you hear from the words in services, the conversations of community members attending them or the activities that occur on these occasions.

The Anzacs left us a legacy of service to others, of sacrifice for mates, of the hope for peace and a rejection, indeed, of pomp and bluster. We come together not only to pay respect to their courage and service but also to honour their legacy and to re-commit to those values.

As a mother of young men I feel particularly moved by the individual stories that we hear at this time: of young men kissing their families farewell as they set off, believing they were off to the 'adventure of a lifetime', or solemnly determined to do their duty to their young nation or simply to support their mates who were signing up. Their motivations were diverse but there is little doubt that the vast majority would never have anticipated the extent of the death, destruction and suffering they would encounter.

Many made the ultimate sacrifice on those bloody battlefields and they never returned to the families that hoped to see them come home. Many families stood at train stations around the nation to collect and embrace relatives returning with devastating injuries, suffering from being gassed or trying to manage the psychological impacts that would live with them for a lifetime. It is no wonder that many families report that those returning were extremely reluctant to ever discuss what they had witnessed.

In the Illawarra we began the centenary events last year, with a wonderful first Service for 100 Years of Anzac at the Balgownie World War I Memorial. Richard Davis did a warm welcome to country and, importantly, also acknowledged the service of Aboriginal diggers, as we can in the days now when we are doing much better at finding the information. Mark Edwell gave us the history of the Remembrance Tree and the memorial. Marie Austin represented the descendants in talking about her two great uncles on the memorial, one of whom died and the other who returned. I have to say that I also have a great-great uncle listed on that memorial: James Young.

We were all thrilled to have State Governor Her Excellency Professor the Hon. Marie Bashir AD CVO to provide the formal address, and she was warmly received by us all. The ceremony was concluded by Major General Hori Howard AO MC ESM (Ret) doing the Ode. Lots of local schools and the Army band were there and B Company 4th/3rd Battalion RNSWR provided the catafalque party. I have to say that it was pleasing that some of the restoration work on the memorial was actually assisted by one of the grants I was able to secure for them under the Anzac Centenary Local Grants Program.

On 13 March, it was an honour to participate in a ceremony at the Wollongong Botanic Gardens organised by the City of Wollongong RSL Sub-branch where we planted a sapling that is a cutting from an original pine tree from the battlefields of Lone Pine, Gallipoli Peninsula. The ceremony included an introduction to the Centenary Anzac torch and it was very well attended, with lots of schoolchildren there as well. On Sunday 19 April, I attended the Bundeena and Maianbar Anzac Centenary march and service. This was also strongly supported by hundreds of locals who turned out. There were excellent contributions from everybody involved, including Bundeena Public School students. Given the tough year that was caused by the fire at the RSL club and sub branch, they did a magnificent job on a very important occasion. They had also received an Anzac Centenary Local Grants Program contribution.

Another aspect of this grants program I was very pleased to support was the provision of funding to local schools for special commemorations. This included St Therese Catholic Primary School for a World War I memorial; Corrimal Primary School for refurbishing an existing war memorial wall and a new mosaic; Wollongong West Public School to establish a memorial garden and to install a plaque; and Para Meadows School to develop a resource on World War I for students with a disability. On 24 April I attended the unveiling of a wonderful Anzac Centenary commemorative plaque at St Brigid's Catholic School at Gwyneville. The students did a great service and we heard from Joe Davidson from the Wollongong RSL.

The dedication of so many local students to the task of researching and retelling the stories of their own family members has indeed inspired me to talk to my family, and I would like to briefly refer to two of my own family members. My maternal grandmother's uncle, James Wallace Young, was born in Scotland and emigrated to Australia in 1914. He enlisted in November 1916 and served in the 1st Battalion E Company of the AIF in France. He was wounded twice in battle: firstly, in May 1917 and, again, in October that year. He returned home but the effects of being gassed had an ongoing impact on him for the rest of his life. He is the gentleman on the Balgownie memorial I mentioned earlier.

The other relative is Edwin Harold Stafford, known as Harry, who lived with my great-great-grandmother, Matilda Kelly, at Balgownie. Harry was working at the local mine until he enlisted at the age of 18 in August 1917. He embarked with the 2nd Australian Tunnelling Company from Melbourne in November 1917 and served on the Western Front. The records show that he was in Suez, Egypt, in December 1917. He was gassed on 1 June 1918 and admitted to a military hospital again in February 1919. He returned to Australia in September 1919 and was discharged in October. The Stafford family, like many of their neighbours, had lost members in the terrible Mt Kembla mining disaster of 1902 that took the lives of 96 men and boys from the small mining communities of the local area. Indeed, three of the Stafford family had died in that mining explosion. Just over 10 years later that small community again saw many of their young men off to World War I. Like communities across the nation, it took a large toll on what were small populations at the time. The same would have been felt, for example, in the communities around Bulli, in my area, who had lost 81 men and boys in the Bulli mining disaster of 1887—again, a mere 27 years before the war.

On Anzac Day I joined thousands of other locals at the dawn service at the Wollongong cenotaph, as I have done for many years. It was great to see thousands—some estimated close to 10,000—at that service, and 75 schoolchildren carried glow sticks through the arch of the cenotaph as the names of the 75 men on the memorial were read out. Later in the day, there was a great march through the streets of town, ending at Wollongong WIN stadium where we had a fantastic service as well. There were performances by the Wongawilli Bush Band and an address by Major General Hori Howard.

There were services across the electorate, and I have to finish by acknowledging the fantastic work of the Illawarra Centenary of ANZAC Committee, who also worked as my reference committee for the local grants program. I want to thank them for their outstanding efforts: Chairman Mr Peter J. Poulton; Deputy Chair Major. General Hori Howard; secretary Mrs Mary Clarke; and members of the committee—Ms Lee Cramer, from Wollongong Council; Ms Katrina Owers, from Shellharbour City Council; Councillor Dennis Seage, from Kiama Municipal Council; Mr Terry Weatherall; Mr Warwick Hansen; Mr Paul McInerney; Ms Deidre Backhouse; Mr Gerry Sozio; Ms Marisa O'Conner; Mr Keith Clemmett; Mr Jim Lyon; and Mr Martin Parmiter. As we commemorate further centenary events as they arise over the coming years, I know the committee will be continuing its great work.

On 3 May I opened the World War I display at the Black Diamond Museum and Heritage Centre at Bulli with Lance Brown. Lance was nine when he joined his family to meet his two uncles, Manny and Alf, at the train station when they returned from WWI. This was another successful grant project that I was really pleased to be involved in unveiling. The work was undertaken with the Illawarra Family History Group, who have an ongoing project on their Facebook page identifying Anzacs on the 100th year since they lost their lives in the conflict. It is a fantastic project, but a sad one. It reminds us why we meet together on Anzac commemorations. Lest we forget.

Greg Hunt (Flinders, Liberal Party, Minister for the Environment) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On Anzac Day around the country, in small towns and in large cities, hundreds and hundreds of thousands of Australians, young and old, of all ethnicity, of all background, of all persuasion, gathered to acknowledge the sacrifice of those who came ashore at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915 and all of those who gave their service, in many cases their health and in all too many cases their lives for the security of Australia not just in the Great War but in all wars.

On Anzac Day I stood and read the names on the cenotaph at Sorrento on the foreshore. Amongst the many names, four in particular struck me—Skelton and Skelton, and Thompson and Thompson—two families, two members each. They represented the damage the loss the tragedy that each of those families felt and that so many other families in that great and terrible conflict felt, not just in Australia but in so many countries of the world.

The fact that 100 years on, following what was one of the very first sites in Australia to commemorate Anzac Day, there in Sorrento, these names are still recorded and still honoured—by schoolchildren, by other veterans, by parents, by people from all walks of life—says two things. It says that as a country we honour, remember and recognise the immense courage and sacrifice; and it says that we are living the very life for which they fought. As a free country, as a decent country, as an honourable country and as a hopeful country we retain the best of both acknowledging that immense, heroic sacrifice but also living with a sense of optimism, pride, hope and forward-looking nature. I think that those four names—Skelton and Skelton, and Thompson and Thompson—would be proud of what their community has become.

So to look briefly backwards; when we think of Anzac Day we know that as the beaches at Gallipoli were swarmed and an almost impossible task was set, by the end of that first day alone, 2,000 Australians lay dead or injured. By the end of the conflict, in just Gallipoli 8,700 Australians had perished and almost 19,000 had been injured. And those injuries were of course of a scale and magnitude which meant that many never recovered in any meaningful way.

By the end of the Great War, 61,000 Australians had given their lives. Over 151,000 had been injured—again in so many ways and to such an extent that normal life was not only impossible but anything other than a life of enormous pain was also impossible. So the immensity of that conflict has to be understood.

A little over 320,000 Australians travelled abroad to fight in that conflict; 61,000 lost their lives; 151,000 were injured. The odds of being killed or injured were almost two out of three. That is a level of courage, a level of sacrifice, which is almost unimaginable. To see the young people recognise and honour the young lives and the names on that plinth—and for them to have that sense of sadness, not just in Sorrento but also in Rye, Rosebud, Dromana, Hastings, Koo Wee Rup, Red Hill, Phillip Island, Lang Lang, Pearcedale and in so many other places within the electorate of Flinders, and replicated in 150 constituencies around the country—is to see that there is something strong in our national fibre. It is not the glorification of this conflict; it is the connection with the fact that so many people fought and gave everything.

So it was profoundly moving to be able to present to Ronald White, an elderly gentleman from a nursing home in Hastings, the medals of his father on Anzac Day. His father, Alfred Henry White, had served in the war. His mother had died when he was but a baby. He never knew his father. It was only in recent years tracking down the only memorabilia he had of his father

a single photograph of a smiling young man in a slouch hat

by using the systems available

with modern technology and with the support of the Bays hospital nursing home

was Ronald White able to find out his father's story.

His father, Alfred Henry White, won the British war medal and the victory medal and these were awarded to him in the chamber of the Hastings RSL after the dawn service and there was a degree of pride and a degree of sadness which encapsulated Anzac Day on the day.

Similarly to be able to present David Loyd with the medals of his own father Herbert Richard Loyd who had servced with the allied troops in Papua New Guinea and then with the US army small ships section was a deeply moving moment.

Right across Australia these things occurred as Australians commemorated in the most honourable those who had served and given. At home in our family we had a quiet moment in recognition of Colin Alexander Grant. On 5 May 1918 Colin Alexander Grant was felled by a bullet at Villers-Bretonneux. Like so many others of course his remains were interred there on the Western Front.

Colin Alexander Grant was my grandfather's brother. He was my great-uncle and the echo of his loss was never lost through the generations. But that is the same for the families of each of the 61,000 Australians who were lost. So against that background, it is right that we still remember. It is right and proper that young Australians from primary school are still able to mourn those that they have never known or even contemplated, but recognise that that which they have is so dependent on that which was given. In some small way the program of commemorating through new Anzac Centenary grants around Australia with initiatives such as the French Island Community Association's flagpole for their Anzac Day service, the Koo Wee Rup RSL's magnificent honour roll and avenue of honour and the Phillip Island RSL's redevelopment of its cenotaph helps to commemorate not just those who came ashore at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915, not just those who fought in the First World War but those who served Australia and who served Australia in each and every conflict whether abroad or whether by providing service at home then that program will have served its worth for the next 100 years. I thank everybody who contributed to Anzac Day 2015. More deeply, I honour and respect all of those who have served Australia over the last century.

Lisa Chesters (Bendigo, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak to this motion of the Prime Minister with not just my own heavy heart and stories from my own family, but with a heavy heart of many in central Victoria. Central Victoria, as people in this House would know, is a very old area made up of old towns and old villages that had a great role to play in the First World War. The Centenary of Anzac Local Grants Program grants for electorates to remember, respect and reflect on the Centenary of Anzac were generous—$150,000. Local communities thought about the projects they would like to fund. We were oversubscribed in the Bendigo electorate, and that was because so many of our young men and women during that period did sign up.

A hundred years ago, Bendigo was a big town and it still is today. Towns that are not so big today but that were big back then include Woodend, which is in the Bendigo electorate and include Kyneton, which is also in the Bendigo electorate. You cannot go to a town hall, into a community space or into a school in the Bendigo electorate without seeing somewhere on the wall an honour board remembering the young men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in the First World War. Many of the boards featuring these men and women were recognised through the Centenary of Anzac Grants Program. I want to acknowledge the hard work of our historical societies, our schools and our RSLs, which put forward great projects. I also want to acknowledge the great work that was done by the network of RSLs in the Bendigo electorate that worked hard to ensure that our local stories were remembered.

In the lead up to Anzac Day this year, there was rolling coverage in our media, not to glorify war but to remember the local story. In Bendigo, what we endeavoured to do was to remember not the uniform but to remember the person, to remember the son, to remember the husband, to remember the brothers and the uncles, to remember the daughters and the wives. What we tried to do in Bendigo was very similar to what many tried to do around Australia—that was, to remember the person, to remember who they were before they put the uniform on. It is through knowing that personal story, the personal grief and the personal heartbreak that we may never forget.

Like most Anzac Day commemorations around the country, Bendigo electorate had the largest turnout that we have seen in a long time. At the dawn services, there were lots of locals of all ages attending to pay their respects. In Bendigo, it was the long largest dawn service that we have had for some years. On Mount Macedon, it was the largest dawn service that we had had for some years. Despite the cold and the rain, people gathered. What I took from being part of these services was that people were there not to glorify war but to pay their respects. People were there to remember the stories, to learn the stories and to pass on the stories.

In the lead up to Anzac Day and in marking this significant event in our nation's calendar, the community of Eaglehawk came together and had honour boards in all of its shop windows. Each honour board told the story of a barrow boy and what he had done. It included the Victoria Cross medal winner. In Kyneton, they remembered at the dawn service at Mount Macedon by telling the stories through the letters that these young men had written to their mothers and to their sisters.

One of the projects funded through the Centenary of Anzac project I wish to highlight in my contribution tonight is the Centenary of Anzac tram, which was launched and started running in Bendigo on Anzac Day. This tram tells the Bendigo story. It is a tourist tram. At 10 o'clock every day it leaves the depot. It is known as the talking tram. It has been restored to its original 1915 decor and it is lined on the inside with the stories of local Bendigo men and women who left Bendigo to fight in the First World War. It includes the stories of brothers. It includes the stories of husbands. And it includes the stories of some of our brave nurses, who did their original training at the Bendigo Base Hospital before embarking for overseas.

I just thought I would share with you some of the stories that this tram tells as it rolls through the streets of Bendigo, trying to help the people who take part of this journey to step back in time and understand the stories. On the tram, it marks and acknowledges the day that the telegram arrived at the Bendigo Town Hall. The mayor had received the official declaration, and the councillors responded to the news:

This council expresses its unswerving loyalty to the British throne, and its full approval of the action of the Commonwealth and State Governments in their endeavours to assist the British government in the Great War now in progress. It expresses its assurance to … render every support in its power to the Government in the dispatch of … force.

After that was declared at the town hall, the next day there were lines of volunteers.

What I remember the most about the Centenary of Anzac in my electorate during April is the number of great-nephews and great-nieces who stood up and told their great-uncles' stories—why they signed up, and who they were. I met the great-niece of HHH. His name was Herbert Humphreys Hunter. At the time that he signed up, he was a dentist in Bendigo. He was also a great athlete, and he had his dentist chair underneath the Hotel Shamrock. The people who are journeying through town and hearing the words of his great-great-niece share his experience and why he signed up to war.

Some of the other stories that the tram mentions include a letter that was written by Sister Jean Bisset, from Bendigo, which shares one of her many heart-wrenching experiences as a nurse involved in the war. This was a letter home in 1915. Here are her words in her letter:

I simply cannot write about the wounded. I never thought there were such patience and goodness left in the world. With their awful gaping wounds, and with nearly every bone in their body broken, every nerve gone to pieces and perhaps having almost bled to death on the field, they will help themselves off the stretchers on to the beds, and they will thank you for any little thing you do for them.

I wish to acknowledge the special efforts made by our local RSL to remember the women involved in the war. In Bendigo, we had a number of young women sign up as nurses, train at the Bendigo Base and go to war.

In Bendigo, we could speak for hours and days of the personal stories of the men and women who left our farms, our schools and our neighbourhoods to go and fight in the First World War. What I would like to end on is a letter—a letter that was written to an unknown soldier who did not return. It is a letter that was read at a special ceremony in Bendigo to mark the beginning of our Centenary of Anzac. It reads:

Dear Unknown Soldier

When war was declared, you and thousands of other young men and women signed up on the promise of a great overseas adventure.

…   …   …

I know that we live in peace and security because of you, a peace that you created for us but may never have experienced.

What I cannot know is the horrors you have seen, the relentless fear that you faced and dealt with hundreds of times, and the courage that allowed you to overcome your fears and respond to the call to attack.

I also cannot know the exhaustion you faced, the despair of endless days without hope, the utter sadness of seeing your comrades die around you and the desolation of spirit that must have stalked you through all your days, both during battle and after you came home.

Thank you for sacrificing your life, your happiness, your peace of mind and your future, whether or not you returned, so that I—

and my generation—

have the incredible privilege of enjoying the life you made possible but could never fully live yourself.

With humility and hope my generation—

will not live with the scars that you have and—

… that another generation will not live with the scars of war.

Ms Julie Bishop (Curtin, Liberal Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

One hundred years ago, Australian troops were engaged in trench warfare with the Turkish forces in Gallipoli. Fighting alongside soldiers from New Zealand, Britain, India, France and other allied nations, they faced a formidable and determined foe in the Ottoman army. From a population of fewer than five million people at the time, over 416,800 Australians enlisted in World War I, of whom over 60,000 were killed and some 156,000 wounded, gassed or taken prisoner. The Australian casualty rate of nearly 65 per cent was amongst the highest of the war.

Each year, we gather on Anzac Day to remember those Australians who served their country in all wars, conflicts and peacekeeping operations and reflect upon the terrible cost of war. What each of us takes from the Anzac story can be quite personal, but what it means for our country is profound. In Charles Bean's history of Australia in the Great War, ANZAC to Amiens, he observes:

… Anzac stood, and still stands, for reckless valour in a good cause, for enterprise, resourcefulness, fidelity, comradeship, and endurance that will never own defeat.

In Les Carlyon's definitive account of the Gallipoli campaign, he observes:

There is such a thing as the Anzac spirit or tradition, although no-one can define it neatly. It is compounded of many ideas: refusing to give up no matter how hopeless the cause, dry humour and irreverence, mateship, fatalism, stoicism and more again.

Both these descriptions speak to us today about the qualities we still see and value in ourselves as Australians.

This year, I represented the Australian government and the Australian people at Anzac Day commemorations in Ypres Belgium to honour those who fought on the Western Front in the First World War. On the eve of Anzac Day, I laid a wreath at the Menin Gate: a memorial to the missing, including 6,191 Australians killed whose graves are unknown. I remain in awe of the fact that town buglers have played the last post at Menin Gate every evening since 1929 with the exception of the period of German occupation during the Second World War.

I participated in a number of other local commemorative events, with a highlight being the Anzac Day service at Tyne Cot cemetery with the Minister-President of Flanders, Mr Geert Bourgeois. After the ceremony, I collected handfuls of the soil from around the war graves that will be used in the establishment of a commemorative garden at the Australian War Memorial here in Canberra.

What makes Anzac Day special is that millions of Australians mark it each and every year. This year almost 400,000 Australians attended Anzac Day ceremonies in Australia and elsewhere in the world. On this centenary year of the landing at Gallipoli the attendance at Anzac Day services in my electorate of Curtin, in the western suburbs of Perth, far exceeded previous years. The dawn service at the State War Memorial in Kings Park, located within my electorate, saw a record-breaking crowd reportedly of over 80,000 people. At services in Claremont and Subiaco around 1,000 people attended each—a reflection of the significant connection felt by those in the Curtin community with this special commemoration.

Many residents have a story to tell of their forebears. I have learned the story of the Curlewis brothers—among many Cottesloe residents who enlisted to serve in the Australian Imperial Force in the First World War. Corporal George Curlewis, Lance Corporal Selwyn Curlewis and Captain Gordon Curlewis, who served in the 16th battalion, and Corporal Arthur Curlewis of the 12th battalion, were four brothers who landed at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915. Only one would return home. Upon his repatriation to Australia with a head wound George said of his brothers, 'It was their duty to go, and they did not deserve so much praise, but they were glad to have it.'

This year many local schools and community groups undertook special projects to commemorate the Anzac Centenary. Cottesloe was Western Australia's first surf life saving club, established in 1909. Five years later, 46 of its members would enlist to serve in the First World War—10 would not return. To commemorate the centenary of the landings at Gallipoli life savers from the Cottesloe Surf Life Saving Club travelled to Turkey to take part in a surfboat race, symbolising the beginning of the Anzac legend where men rode small boats to the shores of Gallipoli.

In my electorate of Curtin, nine projects received Commonwealth funding through the Anzac Centenary Local Grants Program. The Cottesloe War Memorial Town Hall used its grant to develop an electronic honour roll of the service men and women from the local area, providing access to almost 1,000 names with stories and individual profiles. Last week I joined the Rosalie Primary School community to unveil their new Anzac courtyard, paying tribute to the school's historic links to the First World War through its founding principal Harry Naylor, who led troops of the 11th Battalion. The courtyard offers students and staff a special place to reflect on the century of selfless sacrifice, commitment and courage by the men and women of the Australian Defence Force. The number of Australians attending Anzac Day services and the multitude of commemorative projects show the ongoing significance of Anzac Day for Australians and its lasting lessons about war.

One of the truly extraordinary aspects of the Gallipoli campaign is the way it forged the contemporary relationship between Turkey and Australia. It is a relationship with an important history that we honour, but also a relationship that looks forward and is focused on working together to achieve our common goals. Australia sees Turkey as an important partner in global security. As a member of NATO, Turkey is a significant contributor to operations in Afghanistan. Turkey is also a crucial ally in the international community's efforts to combat Daesh in Iraq and Syria, and it bears the particularly heavy humanitarian burden of hosting 1½ million Syrians who have fled across the border.

Australia's contemporary relationship with Turkey also has rich cultural and social dimensions. Acknowledging the contribution of people of Turkish heritage to modern Australian society and showcasing the rich diversity of our innovative and multicultural nation, the Australian government is supporting the Australian International Cultural Council's Year of Australia in Turkey and the Year of Turkey in Australia in 2015: a series of bilateral exchanges to build on the Gallipoli centenary. I am confident these exchanges will foster great collaboration in the arts and cultural sector between Australia and Turkey. Last evening, on budget night, I was pleased to host both the Turkish Ambassador and the New Zealand High Commissioner, who were present on the floor of the House during the budget speech as a token of our appreciation to New Zealand, our partner in Anzac, and to Turkey, now our partner in global affairs.

Let us never forget that the Anzac story is one of tragedy—the tragedy of lives lost, families in mourning and a nation scarred. But it is a story that reflects on our past and our future. At the end of our speeches as parliamentarians we always say, 'Lest we forget'. Tonight I will say we will never forget.

David Feeney (Batman, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Justice) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In my capacity as shadow minister for veterans' affairs I had the very great honour this year of attending the Anzac Day commemorations in Turkey. That began with me joining the Royal Australian Navy in paying tribute to the submarine and crew of HMAS AE2. Submarine AE2 was a part of the Royal Australian Navy that deployed to Turkey and the Dardanelles in 1915. The fact that it was present in this campaign underscores the fact that Australia has operated submarines now for over a century. The AE2 submarine played a pivotal role in Australia's campaign for Gallipoli and is very well regarded in naval circles for its accomplishments during the operations in the Dardanelles. Commanded by Lieutenant Commander HS Stoker, the AE2 was ordered to sail through the Dardanelles to disrupt Turkish shipping in the sea of Marmara.

The Dardanelles, a 35-mile passage, was at the time heavily fortified with minefields, fixed and mobile gun batteries, searchlight surveillance and patrolling Ottoman warships. The natural navigational hazards and peculiar currents of those parts combined to make the AE2's operations in those waters extremely difficult and indeed extremely dangerous. Without the sophisticated radar and sonar systems that submarines enjoy today, the AE2's ability to pass through the minefields was regarded as a matter of chance. Previous allied submarines had failed to pass through the strait and yet the AE2 took on this task with gusto and determination.

Australia's AE2 submarine was able to penetrate these various defences and make its way through the Dardanelles—at times its hull was scraping the very sides of mines that had been planted to prevent the passage of ships and submarines—and enter the Sea of Marmara. There it worked to prevent enemy shipping from transiting between the Bosporus and the Dardanelles. It sought to disrupt the reinforcing and resupplying of Turkish forces who were fighting on the front lines on the Gallipoli Peninsula.

Just before dawn on 25 April, as the first boatloads of Anzac soldiers approached the coast of the Gallipoli Peninsula, the AE2 was already in the Sea of Marmara and under fire from Turkish forces. Later that very day the AE2 was responsible for bringing down the Turkish Navy's torpedo cruiser Peyk-i Sevket. On 26 April the successful campaign to enter the Dardanelles and the Sea of Marmara enabled the AE2 to continue its attacks on enemy shipping but, alas, four days later, on 30 April, the operations of the AE2 came to an end when it was confronted by the Turkish torpedo boat Sultanhisar. It was forced to surface and all on board abandoned the submarine and were taken captive, spending the next 3½ years in a Turkish prison camp. But they were able to scuttle their vessel, thereby denying the enemy intelligence about what was for the time new capability. That submarine is at the bottom of those waters to this very day.

It was a pleasure and an honour for me to join the Royal Australian Navy on board HMAS Anzac in sailing the waters above where the AE2 rests and pay tribute to the outstanding efforts made by that Australian submarine during a ceremony on the waters, some 74 metres above where the AE2 resides today. The historical feat of the HMAS AE2 submarine is remarkable and it is one that forms an important part of the Australian story in the Gallipoli campaign. It is a testament to Australian courage and our innovation. It is a testament to the fact that those Australian submariners were in some respects the founders of a tradition that continues to live with our elite submariners to this very day.

The operation by the crew of the AE2 and their accomplishment in piercing those defences in the Dardanelles is just one of the many stories that contribute to the battle and history of Anzac Day. While in Turkey I had the privilege of attending numerous ceremonies commemorating Anzac Day and the campaign on the Gallipoli Peninsula. These included the Turkish international service at Mehmetcik Abidesi, the Turkish memorial, the Commonwealth commemoration service at Cape Helles and the French commemoration service held in Morto Bay. I joined the Prime Minister, the Minister for Veterans' Affairs, the Leader of the Opposition, Bill Shorten, and many thousands of fellow Australians and New Zealanders who all made the long trip to Gallipoli to attend the dawn service at Anzac Cove, including 10 widows of Australian First World War veterans. Those widows are remarkable women. They remain our last living connection to the Australian forces and Anzac forces that came ashore on that beach 100 years ago. I laid a wreath at the Australian memorial service at Lone Pine Cemetery and attended the Turkish 57th Regiment service and the New Zealand memorial service at Chunuk Bair.

All of these events were remarkably moving and powerful. All of them were brilliantly organised and all of them kept faith with Australia's resolve to commemorate those events 100 years ago in a way that does service to the men who went ashore a century ago and the resonance that that moment has for contemporary Australia and our identity as a modern Australia. I thank all of those who worked so hard to commemorate the centenary of the Gallipoli landings, in particular the Anzac Centenary Advisory Board chaired by Sir Angus Houston, who worked in partnership with the former Minister for Veterans' Affairs, Warren Snowdon, who I know is very proud indeed of what has transpired, together with the current minister, Senator the Hon. Michael Ronaldson, in setting up and implementing the architecture for commemorating the Centenary of Anzac as well as the project to commemorate in 2018 the period of the Great War until Armistice Day.

I want to thank the Department of Veterans' Affairs for undertaking to ensure that the Anzac commemoration events were so well organised. They did a very fine job. I know they are—and they very much should be—very proud of their work. I congratulate the thousands of Australians who attended these commemorative events, who undertook the odyssey—indeed, one might say the pilgrimage—to that distant coast so very far away and enduring the various logistical challenges that they confronted, not the least of which was a cold night on the peninsula. I congratulate Lindsay Fox and his committee who have worked so hard to raise such a great sum of money to ensure that the commemorative activities taking place across Australia are supported by our business community. In that endeavour Lindsay Fox has excelled.

I also congratulate the Australian Embassy in Turkey and our consulate in Istanbul. Our ambassador, our consul and their dedicated staff did a tremendous job. As you can imagine, it was for them a blizzard, a tornado, of work as they coordinated so many Australians being in their country. They played such a key role in working with the people and the government of Turkey. Of course, let me make the point that the government and people of Turkey should be congratulated for continuing to embrace this very important event and for continuing to work so harmoniously with Australia and Australians as we travel to their country to commemorate that is, of course, so powerful for Australians but is, from the Turkish perspective, foreigners marking a failed invasion of their homeland. Notwithstanding that, the Turks continue to play host to Australia in a splendidly generous and graceful way, and it does them enormous credit.

Finally, let me congratulate my own committee in the seat of Batman: Mr Bob Cross, the President of the Darebin RSL; Mr Graham Hibbert, the President of the Reservoir RSL; Mr Barry Warden, the Secretary of the Darebin RSL; Mr Colin Langborne, the Secretary of the Reservoir RSL; Mr Ken Coughlan and Mr Bill Mountford, both from Darebin RSL; Mr Jack Langley, the secretary of the National Servicemen's Association sub-branch; Mr Noel Blake, the president of the National Servicemen's Association sub-branch; Barbara Hinsley, from Kingsbury Primary School; Mr Allan Waterson, from William Ruthven Primary School, which is named after a winner of the Victoria Cross; Ms Katrina Knox, group manager of community services at Darebin City Council; and Ms Jackie Goddard of Darebin Libraries. They have just done a magnificent job in assisting me in the task of making sure that commemorative activities across Batman have been of a first-class standard and that a range of memorials, honour boards and the like across the electorate have received the nurturing that they deserve. Thank you very much.

Warren Snowdon (Lingiari, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for External Territories) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Can I thank the shadow minister for his contribution and say how jealous I am of him for having that role at Gallipoli. But I should not be too churlish, because I have on two occasions had the great honour and privilege of doing the Dawn Service address at Gallipoli and once at Villers-Bretonneux. It is the job which has given me the greatest satisfaction since I have been elected in this parliament, which now is nearly 28 years ago. It is a wonderful thing.

A hundred years ago, in the pre-dawn chill, 1,500 Anzacs landed just south of Ari Burnu under the cloak of darkness, at 4.29, and by the end of that day 20,000 Australians and New Zealanders—Anzacs—had landed on those shores. More than 2,000 Anzacs were killed on that bloody first day. So began an epic story of tragedy; of love; of courage; of, I am sure, the sight of some rascals; of Australian mateship; and of the things that have come to embody service to this great country by men and women in uniform from that day forward.

But, sadly, it is not often enough understood that when we landed at Gallipoli on that fateful and dreadful day we were expected. Whilst the site of the landing was not rightly known, there were on that day, 25 April, around 100,000 men and officers of the Ottoman Fifth Army on or near the Gallipoli Peninsula. When we tell this story of 100 years ago, whilst it is very important that we understand what this has meant for us in our early nationhood and subsequently, it was, after all, a military disaster. We know that over 8,000 Australian lives were lost, but they were not on their own. This, I think, is the point we need to understand as well. In that Gallipoli campaign, 8,709 Australians died and 2,779 New Zealanders, our Anzac brothers, died. The Ottoman forces lost 86,692, and the total of the Allied forces who were killed was 44,150.

So the context here is one where Australians were involved in this dreadful battle. It was a foreign shore, of course, for us, and I am sure that many Australians who were involved in this fight were not quite sure why they were actually at Gallipoli, because when they left Australia through Albany in November 1914 they thought they were going to Europe. But, nevertheless, they were there, and opposing them was this mighty Ottoman army, whose soldiers were brave like ours. Their families were wrought asunder, as were ours. I will just read a quote from a wonderful book by Harvey Broadbent, Defending Gallipoli: The Turkish Story. Esat Pasha's chief of staff, Fahrettin Bey, recalled one short episode during August 1915:

One night, a convoy of young soldiers arrive from the Istanbul Military Drill-Ground to fill the cavity in the frontline. As they were moving into marching column carrying their guns over shoulders, I saw my brother-in-law Rafet among them. I told him, 'I will call you tomorrow.' When I got someone to look for him in the morning, I received the news that he was dead. Many young soldiers like him died before shooting a single bullet.

That could be the story of Australians and other Allied soldiers at Gallipoli as well, and it just goes, I think, to demonstrate the importance of understanding how this has affected what we do and how we see ourselves but also how others look at us and how they look at themselves. It was a tragedy—a dreadful tragedy. Sergeant Leon Gellert, who arrived at Anzac Cove on 25 April, said:

The dead would be remembered evermore-

The valiant dead that gazed upon the skies,

And slept in great battalions by the shore.

And indeed they have been. That is why we honour them 100 years later. That is why I was so pleased to be the Minister for Veterans' Affairs and minister assisting the Prime Minister in setting up, in many ways, the framework for these events.

But this came as a result of others doing a great deal of work. It was firstly the National Commission on the Commemoration of the Anzac Centenary, which gave a report in March 2011. It had on it the Rt Hon. Malcolm Fraser PC, AC, CH, the Hon. Bob Hawke AC, the RSL president Rear Adm. Ken Doolan AO, former peacekeeper Major Matina Jewell, veterans advocate Kylie Russell and cartoonist and journalist Warren Brown. They gave a report to the government on 28 March 2011. After that report was received, a new board was set up: the Anzac Centenary Advisory Board, chaired by now Sir Angus Houston and then Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston AS, AC, AFC (Retired). His board comprised a large number of very notable Australians. I seek permission to table the list of Anzac centenary board members.

Leave granted.

I also would like to table another list, which is the groups that were set up to advise that board. There was a business group chaired by Mr Lindsay Fox AC. There was a military and cultural history group chaired by Professor Bruce Scates. There was the education and curriculum group chaired by Professor Glyn Davis AC. There was a youth group chaired by Ms Yassmin Abdel-Magied. There was a state, territory and local government group chaired by Ian Campbell PSM. There was a ceremonial commemorative group chaired by Major Gen. Paul Stevens AO (Retired). I seek leave to table the list of members of those groups.

Leave granted.

We have had the benefit of many bright minds working with us to the day of the Centenary of Anzac and also to develop the commemorative events up until Armistice Day 2018. These people were crucial in providing advice to the government to make sure we did it correctly, appropriately and in the right way. In my local electorate I want to thank Mr Martin Glass, who chaired my electoral committee, and his committee members Liz Bird, Liz Clark, Sandy Taylor, Angus Mitchell, Michael Gablonski and Robyn Gregor.

I finish by saying that we would not have had these events in Gallipoli work so successfully if it were not for the commitment of the Department of Veterans' Affairs and all those people who work within it. Initially, of course, the secretary of the department was Ian Campbell. It was subsequently Simon Lewis and, of course, Major Gen. Mark Kelly, who is the MC of the Anzac ceremony. I thank them and all those people in the department for their wonderful work. I thank the Turkish government for their assistance, their work with us and their ongoing support and love for those Australians who are buried in their soil.

Ken Wyatt (Hasluck, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

For the celebrations, I attended a number of services in which we recalled and remembered those who have given of their lives and sacrificed during the different wars and campaigns but in particular Gallipoli and our establishment in the minds of all Australians as the point which our military forces grew from even though it was a great defeat.

When we think about it, 100 years ago a bullet from an assassin's gun sparked a war that ignited the globe, and at Anzac Cove, as dawn approached on 25 April, the first wave of men, composed of the units of the 3rd Australian Brigade, comprising three infantry battalions made up of men from Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia, reached the beach in half light. They were sighted, and bullets began hitting the boats, killing some and wounding others. As men launched themselves out of the boats and struggled ashore, soaking wet and weighed down by their rifles and sodden packs, some leapt into the deep water, where they drowned.

Over a period of time we have looked at the history of campaigns, but a very particular project was initiated in Western Australia by the Department of Aboriginal Affairs, and I want to cover those Indigenous servicemen who served not only at Gallipoli but in other campaigns. In the book that they have produced, They Served with Honour: Untold Stories of Western Australian Aboriginal Servicemen at Gallipoli, they acknowledge 13 Western Australian Aboriginal servicemen who served at Gallipoli. One was wounded, died on a hospital ship and was buried at sea. The others all went on to other campaigns in the Western Front. But I think the thing that is important that I want to capture is the essence of feeling that the book has aroused in people who have read it. When I read the 13 stories, my wife said to me, 'So what'd you think?' and I could not say much, because I had a lump in my throat. It is a part of history that we often did not cover or talk about.

Thirteen served at Gallipoli. The 119 who sought to serve in World War I were as follows. Sixty-nine served overseas. Nine died from wounds received while serving in France. One died of wounds at Gallipoli and is buried at sea, and that was James Dickerson. Two died from pneumonic influenza when their ship was returning to Australia after the war had ended. Two received posthumous military medals. Twenty-three were rejected as 'not of sufficient European descent'. Eighteen were rejected on medical grounds. Six were rejected as other, including 'on leave and did not return', and three did not enlist but served at the home front as transport signalmen at Guildford depot in the naval reserve. What is interesting, when you look at those figures, is that at the time Australia had in place a number of acts which covered Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. In the 1905 act, there was a requirement that the native protector would have to give permission. The other thing they disobeyed in enlisting was the Defence Act No. 37 of 1910, an act to amend the Defence Act. Under section 61 it says:

The following shall be exempt from service in time of war, so long as the employment, condition, or status on which the exemption is based continues …

Aboriginal servicemen and Aboriginal people were:

Persons who are not substantially of European origin or descent, of which the medical authorities appointed under the Regulation shall be the judge.

So when they went to enlist they were judged as to whether they had sufficient European blood in them.

Often there was in The Camp Chronicle a listing of the discharges. There were 16 rejections on Thursday, February 17, 1916. Of the 16 rejections, 14 were Aboriginal. Later, in the Bunbury Herald, a decision which had been made was published accordingly:

As there is some uncertainty as to the enlistment of half-castes, the following particulars from head quarters are interesting. In all cases for particulars as to the intending recruit must be forwarded to head quarters, for approval, before enlistment will be authorised. While it is not desirable to alter the regulations to expressly permit the investment in the A.I.F. of half-castes, the Department will countenance their enlistment in cases where in the opinion of the District Commandant, they are suitable. There are usual two cases. The first is that of men who mixed all their life with white people, and copied their ways. The other is that of the man who has lived all his life with his full blooded brother. The former might be suitable for enlistment, but the latter would certainly not be suitable. A good guide is to bear in mind that these people have to live with white men, and share the same huts, and the inclusion in the force of any applicant for enlistment may be judged from this stand-point: whether his inclusion will cause dissatisfaction to his mates.

Even against that background, they still chose to enlist in significant numbers and to serve their country. Even breaking the laws in the two acts that existed did not deter them; many found ways of enlisting. I want to talk about two in particular who feature in this book.

James Melbourne was a talented sportsmen who excelled in a number of sports. Jimmy was the first Aboriginal person to play Australian Rules football in the state league representing West Perth in 1900. He also played for South Fremantle and West Perth. He enlisted in the AIF and his contribution to Gallipoli and the campaign was significant.

The other element in all of this is that these men served with honour. They participated and fought for their country. But, if you ever go and see the show Black Diggers, what you will see is a depiction of what happened when they returned. When they returned from Gallipoli they were not treated as other servicemen were. The equality they experienced within the AIF dissipated and they were no longer welcome. They were not served in bars. They were not allowed to join RSL clubs, but that has changed over the years. The important aspect to all of that is that Black Diggers showed a part of our history that epitomised the racist position and views that were strongly held. Even with all of that, they decided that their contribution to their country was worth it.

And Aboriginal men and women have continued to join the military forces based on that Anzac tradition and spirit of collegiality. As Ken Colbung, who served in Vietnam, once said to me: 'It was the time that I was an equal. I was treated the same as all others. There was no difference in skin colour—it was about being a comrade and a fellow in arms.'

I would recommend to anybody they take the opportunity and the time to read They Served With Honour. It can be found on the Department of Aboriginal Affairs website. The stories are all unique. They have brought together people in a way that is of significant interest. They have brought together Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal members of families. They have shown the way in which their contributions are valued and how, even in their tribulations, they never wavered from being proud of the fact they served their nation—although their treatment on their return was not up to the expectations they had. There are some incredible stories of love and passion. There are those who died in poverty, whose service was never known in their communities. There are towns where, when you look at the graveyards, there are veterans of Gallipoli there.

I would hope that, over time, every story of every Aboriginal servicemen is told so it forms part of the tapestry of the history of this nation. Given its origins, commenced at Gallipoli, I am proud that one of the servicemen who served there was a relative of mine and that he was part of the history that was forged for this nation, in the way we view our historical defeat and the way in which we value what our services gave and continued to contribute.

I want to share with you one story, if time permits: the story of Charles Hutchins. I will read his granddaughter's comments:

Enlisting in the AIF in Bunbury on 5 March 1915 and within 24 hours Charles had commenced his training at the Blackboy Hill depot at Greenmount Hill. On 9 June 1915 he embarked on the HMAT Ascanius at Fremantle along with Larry and Lewis Farmer and James Dickerson arriving in Cairo on 2 July. Landing at Gallipoli on 4 September Charles was involved in a defensive action and, seven weeks later, was admitted to hospital at ANZAC Cove suffering from debility and typhoid. He was later hospitalised with trench fever and was returned to the front line in Belgium, where he was discharged. On 20 September 1917 Charles sustained near-fatal gunshot wounds to his thigh, leg and arm. He was also severely affected by mustard gas. With his life in the balance, he was transferred to No. 3 General Hospital in Boulogne where his condition was so serious that he received Holy Communion.

He was evacuated to London and during his time convalescing Charles met Rose, a voluntary worker whom he married in March 1919 while absent from leave from his base and he was penalised forty-eight days' pay. Charles died in August 1952 in Kogarah, NSW, aged 59. His ashes were returned to WA and are scattered with those of his wife in the Swan River.

At the launch of the book, his granddaughter, Diane Brown, had this to say:

My grandfather, Charles Hutchins, is one of the Aboriginal ANZACs being commemorated in this book. His war service is well documented. In short, he served in Gallipoli, England, France and finally Belgium.

…   …   …

Discrimination can cross oceans as well as cultures. Even in England, Charles was considered to be a 'foreigner or native: not a British subject' by some. He went absent without leave for 24 days, persuaded her father to give permission and they were married. That meant he missed his ship back to Australia and was fined 48 days' pay.

Diane went on to say:

He never spoke of his background, childhood or war service. It was easier for him to say he was an orphan from Busselton and grew up in care. Life after the war was a daily struggle for Rose, Charles and their daughter Marjorie. His injuries had left him broken and unable to do heavy physical work, but still he struggled on for the sake of the family.

Charles refused to apply for a war pension or other benefits that were available to disabled veterans. He was proud and said 'they' did nothing for him after the war and he would take nothing from 'them'.

  …   …   …

Charles Hutchins was an Aboriginal Anzac, son of Annie Harris and Charles Hutchins, a bush worker from Busselton. His ancestors' names and his story are now written in this book, along with stories of others that deserve to be told.

Diane went on to say:

If Pop had lived longer, I could have told him what I have learnt. The shade of his skin should not have controlled his life and made him a target to be moulded into a society that didn't fully support him on his return to Australia. Children should be supported and not taken and isolated solely for that reason. Aboriginality is about kinship and connection to country.

Her pride in discovering that her grandfather was an Aboriginal Anzac was a moment of significant emotion. Even the minister for Aboriginal affairs, Peter Collier, indicated to me that he had a tear in his eye and he did not realise the extent of the commitment made to the Anzac landing, nor the Great War, in respect of the numbers of Aboriginal people who served their nation and their country.

Jim Chalmers (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Before the member for Hasluck leaves the chamber, I want to commend him on a tremendous contribution to this motion in the House. I think it is fair to say that it is not often in this place that you would like someone from the other side to go on longer than they have. I was fascinated by that, Member for Hasluck, and I am very pleased that I could be in the chamber for it.

At 4.30 in the morning a century ago this Anzac Day, a young man named Frederick Pope was among the first to dash ashore at Gallipoli. You can imagine him and his mates in the dark, the waves lapping against their boat, and, most likely, fear in their throats. They could not have imagined the place they would occupy, a century later, in the story of our nation.

Pope's 3rd Brigade was the covering force for the Anzac landing. It helped establish and defend the front line on that beach, on a sacred peninsula with a name now inscribed on the hearts of every Australian and every New Zealander. The 3rd Brigade was made up of Pope's 9th Battalion as well as the 10th, 11th and 12th. His was among the first infantry units raised for the AIF during the First World War—sent to Egypt soon after the war was called. Between the day Pope ran onto the beach and the evacuation later in 1915, his battalion alone lost 236 men and 390 were wounded. Pope himself was shot in the shoulder on that first day, and later gassed in France and Belgium—where my own ancestors contested the feet and yards of that muddy stalemate. He not only survived his wounds, he fought on until the war's end, in some of its most important engagements. He lived to settle locally in Woodridge, the heart of my community, in 1923 with his new bride, where a daughter still lives today.

It is hard to fathom the experience of this man who saw the worst that the world could offer in some of the most horrible places of human history—and who, just a few years later, found himself living in Woodridge, among the trees of a peaceful property. It is harder still to imagine the memories he carried with him when he left there each day to gather timber and farm poultry in the decade after the war. And it is just incredible to think of the courage he showed when he put his hand up to leave that house again for service in another world war, 2½ decades later.

Frederick Pope's memory remains in the records, pamphlets and photos that have been so lovingly maintained by his family, many of which can now be found in the Kingston Buttery Factory Museum, also in my electorate. I want to acknowledge the work done by that museum in gathering his records. I was proud that the Anzac grant that we provided to them was able to house those artefacts and documents in the style that they deserve. I want to thank in particular my friend Kelvin Nicholls, who first introduced me to the Pope family and told me the story of Frederick and his family.

Frederick's memory endures each time we pay our respects on Anzac Day to all the diggers, from two nations, throughout time. I thought of him as well last year when I visited Australian troops at our base in the UAE and when I knelt to honour the light horsemen among the white crosses at the Beersheba War Cemetery in Israel. I like to speak about Pope each Anzac Day because, being among the first onto the beach at Gallipoli and being a local man, he has special significance for those of us who, like him, have made a home and a life in the suburbs and neighbourhoods of my community. I shared his story this year at the Anzac Day service for the Logan district's RSL subbranch at Logan Central.

The parade this year was the biggest in memory. Thousands of people lined the streets, waving flags out of respect for our servicemen and women—Australian flags, Aboriginal flags, Torres Strait Islander flags and New Zealand flags as well. It was incredible to see so many young people, scouts, guides, schools, veterans and families pause to commemorate those who served.

The service at Logan Central honoured especially our local Aboriginal and Maori communities whose ancestors played a key role in our nations' military history, as so skilfully outlined and told by the member for Hasluck. As my colleague the member for Greenway, who is here at the table, knows, I have one of the largest populations of New Zealanders in Australia living in my local community, and it was crucial to pay respect to their fallen heroes as well. Some of the New Zealanders' headstones in France are marked, 'They came from the ends of the earth.' No one travelled further to suffer and serve than their countrymen did.

I was honoured this Anzac Day to attend not only a Logan Central service but also the dawn service at the Vietnam veterans motorcycle club, the start of the march organised by the Springwood Tri-Services and also the ceremony organised at Greenbank RSL. At all of these ceremonies, and at ceremonies right around the country, we honour people like Frederick Pope and so many others who fought for and served our country. For us Frederick Pope is one symbol, our symbol, of every courageous Australian serviceman and servicewoman.

It was a real privilege today to join the students and staff of St Stephen's Catholic Primary School at Algester, who are visiting Canberra this week. I was privileged and honoured to lay a wreath with them in the Hall of Memory at the Australian War Memorial here in Canberra. When I spoke to them after we had laid the wreath, I talked to them about the unknown soldier interred in Canberra. I think one of the most stirring quotes that has been said about our military men and women was about the unknown soldier by Paul Keating, who said, 'He is all of them. And he is one of us.'

The kids from St Stephen's at Algester did a great job in honouring all of our fallen and all of those who served when I joined them today at the War Memorial. By keeping the memory of people like Frederick Pope alive we honour not just him but all of them in their graves around the world. And we honour the contribution made by veterans who are still with us from too many conflicts and those who serve today.

Perhaps the only thing more remarkable than the story of Frederick Pope—remembering that he was among the first to get ashore at Gallipoli, the Woodridge man in my community—is that there are many thousands of stories like his, hundreds of thousands, from the world wars; from Korea and Vietnam; from Iraq and Afghanistan; right around the world. The Anzacs, the diggers, the nashos—all of them honoured not to glorify war but to reflect upon their selflessness and sacrifice, the two most admirable and most honourable of all human qualities. We remember all of those who serve and have served the country we love and the causes we cherish, in Gallipoli, but also in theatres right around the world.

Gallipoli has been described as a failure. Yes, there were errors made, and those errors cost lives. But we know that in the building of a great nation like ours there are, ultimately, no failures—only lessons. And the lessons that Frederick Pope and his digger mates taught us—about courage, mateship and egalitarianism, to share and to stick together and to never give up—did not perish on the sand and cliffs and fields and grasslands a century ago. They were forged and furthered there.

I want to say again what a privilege it is to speak on this motion from the Prime Minister. I commend speakers on both sides of the House. For example, it was a great honour to listen to my friend the member for Lingiari, who has spent a great deal of his political life in honouring our military men and women and working to ensure that they get the benefits, entitlements and, mostly importantly of all, the recognition that they deserve.

We should reflect together on these words:

Time dims the memory of ordinary events, but not great events. In a nation's history, great events—whether in peace or in war—live in our memories regardless of time.

This is why we remember all of those who serve and have served the country we love and the causes we cherish. It is why we mark the hundred years since Frederick Pope sprinted onto the beach at Gallipoli—because he is all of them and he is one of us. As the story of our community and our country inches forward, year by year, we will remember him and we will remember them—for another hundred years and for hundreds of years after that. Lest we forget.