Pat Conroy (Charlton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am pleased to update the House on Centenary of Anzac commemorations in Charlton. Before speaking on the various ways this special centenary was commemorated, I would like to acknowledge those who served on the Charlton Centenary of Anzac Committee: Chair Peter Stephenson, Deputy Chair Darren McManus Smith, Lake Macquarie Mayor Jodie Harrison, Des Greene, Lyn Goodworth, Sid Lynch, Ron Mitcherson, Sharon Pascoe and Col Firth from Cardiff North Public School. The committee has worked on centenary commemorations for over two years, and I thank them for their hard work and dedication. In the six months leading up to Anzac Day, Peter Stephenson was the Acting President of the New South Wales RSL. I thank Deputy Chair Darren McManus Smith for overseeing the final stages of preparations.

The main commemoration was organised by the Toronto RSL sub-branch and Lake Macquarie City Council and was held at Speers Point Park. As well as a very moving service, there were a range of activities for families and many different stalls with memorabilia and historical artefacts. I particularly want to acknowledge Ron Mitcherson from Toronto RSL sub-branch, and Mayor Jodie Harrison and Kate Dunn and Kate Davies from the council for their hard work and commitment in organising this very special commemoration.

The South Lake Macquarie sub-branch of the RSL have organised for all students in Charlton to be presented with a special Centenary of Anzac medallion. These will be presented throughout the centenary year. I would like to thank Darren McManus Smith and Des Greene for their hard work in coordinating this special tribute for students.

Cardiff RSL sub-branch has organised for the pictorial book The Digger's View, by local author Juan Mahoney, to be distributed to all primary and secondary high schools for their libraries. This book contains not only amazing colour photographs from the First World War but also some very special diary entries and handwritten letters from soldiers serving overseas. I thank Sid Lynch and the Cardiff RSL sub-branch for coordinating this project. I had the great honour in presenting these books to local school students in April.

Finally, the Wallsend Heritage Group was provided with a grant through the Commonwealth's Centenary of Anzac grants program to restore Wallsend's World War I memorial. I particularly thank Geoff Hassall from the Wallsend Heritage Group for his hard work on this project. This is part of an important process of restoring that memorial and perhaps moving it from its current location in a car park to somewhere more fitting for such an important memorial.

As well as these four projects, all sub-branches in Charlton—Wallsend, Cardiff, Boolaroo-Speers Point, Toronto, Wangi Wangi and South Lake Macquarie—held very moving services leading up to and on Anzac Day. The feedback I received was that attendances at this year's services were far and away the largest ever, particularly the ones I attended, which were very well visited by local residents. Again, I place on the record my sincere thanks to the Charlton Centenary of Anzac Committee members, who worked so hard on these special commemorations, and all those in Charlton who were involved in commemorating this event of great national significance.