Thousands of Victorians have lined Melbourne city’s streets to commemorate Australia’s war efforts at the Anzac Day parade.
A stacked roster of active army, air force and navy personnel, government officials and veterans who fought in historic conflicts marched towards the Shrine of Remembrance.
Among the parade’s more than 10,000 participants were veterans from Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, East Timor and the Solomon Islands.
This is the first year veterans of peacekeeping operations have led Melbourne’s Anzac Day march.
The parade’s route stretches from Princes Bridge on the edge of Melbourne’s CBD to the Shrine.
It comes after more than 40,000 people gathered for a dawn service in chilly temperatures at the Shrine to mark the 109th anniversary of the landings at Gallipoli in World War I and honour those who have served in other conflicts and peacekeeping missions.
Premier Jacinta Allan, Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton, Opposition Leader John Pesutto and Governor Margaret Gardner were among the official party.
Master of ceremonies Justin Smith paid particular tribute to Australian peacekeepers, who had “little recognition”.
“Many times against their training, our peacekeepers could not fight back and this brought its own trauma, as they witnessed human beings at their worst,” he said.
“Their enemies weren’t always clear, and their allies weren’t always reliable.”
Mr Smith also remembered the boy soldiers, as young as 14, who lied about their ages to join Australia’s war effort and ended up in Gallipolli.
Professor Gardner also extended the commendation of Australia’s peacekeepers as she addressed the crowd.
“Every war inflicts untold suffering on the men and women who are called upon through the service in these conflicts to do the extraordinary,” she said.
“Their sacrifices raise a question impossible to answer. How many lives were saved as a result of their impossible sacrifice?
“I have no doubt that those who have served in peacetime and in war have saved an untold number of lives.”
RSL Victoria president Robert Webster delivered the Ode before a lone bugler rang out the Last Post on the steps of the Shrine which was lit up in red.
The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Chorus was joined by the navy band to play the Australian and New Zealand national anthems as dawn broke over Melbourne.
Prof Gardner laid a wreath inside the Shrine to the sounds of The Sands of Kuwait performed by pipers.
Shrine CEO Dean Lee acknowledged Victorians taking part in the longstanding tradition.
“The community’s commitment to honour those who defend our way of life at this morning’s Anzac Day dawn service was overwhelming,” he said.
“Upholding a 90-year tradition at Victoria’s home of commemoration.”
Elsewhere, Victorians attended dozens of local services and events in suburbs and towns across the state.
A commemoration and wreath-laying service will take place later in the afternoon.
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Source: AAP
