4 Field Regiment (SVN) 'Old Boys' Newsletter - June 2010

5 PJ SMITH’S ANZAC DAY - A ROUTINE SOMEWHAT CHANGED For years my ANZAC Day followed a fairly standard routine, well standard for me at least. It normally began with attendance at a Dawn Service, most often at either Sydney’s Cenotaph in Martin Place or in more recent times at Melbourne’s Shrine of Remembrance but on other occasions at whatever happened to be the most appropriate location depending on where I was at the time. Many of you will be aware that I lived and worked in Asia for about 10 years so there were interruptions in Dawn Service attendance then. In China, there was no organised Dawn Service local to me, though the Aussie and Kiwi expats did gather for a service at 11:00 a.m. Back to the routine; the Dawn Service was normally followed by a gunfire breakfast and a bit of a wait for the march to begin. The march was in turn followed by a gathering of Gunners in some local pub or other. Old mates caught up, swapped stories, downed a few ales. In China, that late morning service was held in a local park and a wreath was laid at the base of a gum tree, a most fitting cenotaph in a foreign land. It was indeed a surprise to see so many people in attendance, led by local Australian Consulate staff and very well supported by the local Australia/China Chamber of Commerce, of which I was Vice President at the time. Of course, there was no march, in fact I am not sure that the Chinese authorities were all that pleased that we were conducting the service at all. Singapore provided a most moving Dawn Service location, that of the immaculately maintained Kranji War Cemetery (part of the Commonwealth War Graves) and afterwards a gunfire breakfast at either the Australian or New Zealand High Commission (on a rotation basis). Again, no march in which to participate. The last couple of years have seen a major change. I still attend the Dawn Service at the Shrine in Melbourne but immediately after that I make my way to the MCG where a day’s work awaits. As the Director of Appeals for the Victorian Branch of the RSL and charged with the responsibility of raising money for the ANZAC and Poppy Appeals, I organise a collection at the MCG. ANZAC Day at the ‘G’ has now become a blockbuster game, between Collingwood and Essendon attracting around 90,000 people. My aim is to get as many of these people as possible to make a donation to support veteran welfare. I am fortunate to have about 80 or so volunteers who do the hard work of selling ANZAC Appeal tokens and collecting the money. The bulk of this volunteer force comes from HMAS Cerberus who generously provides more than 50 sailors and leaders each year. They are supported by volunteers from a few RSL Sub-Branches and some secondary school students who pitch in to make sure all approaches to the MCG are well and truly covered. All up, we raise about $80,000 for the Appeal and we are most appreciative of the generosity of the public, although we know we can always do better. There are, however, other aspects to this great day at the ‘G’, apart from the game. The pre-match activity is all about commemoration and remembrance and I must say, it is a very moving ceremony. One feature of the ceremony is a motorcade of veterans and it is one of the more pleasant aspects of my job to organise this. Eight open cars, this year they were Lexus convertibles, each carrying a precious cargo of two veterans, do a lap of the MCG boundary. It is