Posted by Blogger Name. Category:
Adelaide
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Anzac Day
,
Australia
,
Gallipoli
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New Zealand
,
Vietnam
We have had a wonderful Anzac morning in Adelaide.
Fear not; we're not about to join the likes of DPF and try and become New Zealand's leading travel and lifestyle blogger. In fact we hadn't intended to blog at all, apart from this morning's Anzac Day tribute. But what we have experienced this morning has been deeply moving and uplifting, and definitely worthy of sharing.
We left our Adelaide lodgings at 5.45am and made the short work to the War Memorial outside Government House where a very moving dawn service took place. It was our first experience of an Anzac Day commemoration outside New Zealand, and was well worth the indignity of a 5am alarm clock whilst on holiday!
Along with what seemed half the crowd of thousands, we adjourned to a cafe for breakfast after the service, then we went for a walk. As we sat with a coffee just across the River Torrens from the Adelaide Oval we noticed the crowd building up along that Anzac Day parade route. People were out with their deckchairs and picnics well over an hour before the scheduled start of the parade.
Adelaide's Anzac Day parade was an eye-opener. Our hands are still red from all the applause accorded to the veterans who marched in a parade lasting almost two hours. There was a small New Zealand contingent at the head of the parade, followed by a steady stream of Diggers; some walking unassisted, some with walking frames or mobility scooters, some in wheelchairs and others in vehicles. This chap epitomised the parade for us:
He's got his wheelchair folded up, and is using it for support. But he was determined to complete the march under his own steam, and he did. The human spirit is indefatiguable.
The numbers of WWII veterans decline each year. But there was a large complement of Vietnam war veterans marching, who themselves are no longer young men. They were received warmly; a far contrast to the reception accorded them at the end of the Vietnam War:
There was also a large contingent of Vietnamese veterans. They too were accorded a very warm reception by the huge crowd lining the streets of Adelaide:
New Zealand was not forgotten. The crowd sang both God Defend New Zealand and Advance Australia Fair at the dawn service, and the New Zealand contingent leading the parade was greeted with cheers and applause. The Anzac spirit is alive and well.
It has been a privilege to experience Anzac Day as the Australians observe it. With the 100th anniversary of the Gallipoli campaign just one year away now it will be a time when New Zealanders and Australians can unite as never before to remember the fallen, and to honour their sacrifice.
