Anzac spirit looms large in Springfield
THE ANZAC spirit was alive and well in Springfield this morning in celebration of the annual Anzac Day Dawn Service.
Packed to capacity, Robelle Domain Parklands hosted close to 5000 people and featured a range of speeches from various defence and community members.
Former Royal Australian Navy Chief Petty Officer, John Cannon travelled from the Sunshine Coast to attend the Springfield event and said it was an opportunity to catch up with old mates but more importantly to honour his late father, also a former veteran.
"I'm an ex-marine engineer where I served from 1965 to 1977 and in the latter part of my service I brought troops back from the Vietnam War and was also in Darwin for two years when Cyclone Tracey hit, so that was quite a tumultuous couple of years," Mr Cannon said.
"I lived in Springfield Lakes for nine years when it was first developing and there were only a handful of people at those first services, but it's always been very moving because my father served in the Middle East where he fought the Germans and in Papua New Guinea where he fought the Japanese.
"I never used to go to Anzac Day and once I got out of the service I shunned it, but then when my father passed away I wanted to honour him and what he did.
"He passed away 38 years ago and I've probably been to 25 Anzac Day services since then, so it's very special."
Springfield resident Colonel Michael Batiste addressed the public from his post in Afghanistan and spoke of the ongoing Anzac spirit and values living on in deployed Australian troops all over the world.
"There are around 270 servicemen and women currently serving in one of the longest and most forgotten deployments here in Afghanistan and who are doing so in the Anzac spirit to help protect Australia and its national interests," Colonel Batiste said.
"Out of 90 known terrorist groups, 20 of them exist here in Afghanistan and Afghanistan is also responsible for a large amount of the opium-based narcotics that are sold around the world and which are also responsible for funding global terrorists.
"As part of the NATO led coalition, our troops are working with the Afghanistan Defence Force to train them to disrupt these terrorist groups.
"I can see that the support of veterans continues to grow and I think that is because there's a sense that the spirit and values of the Anzacs- courage, initiative and mateship have come to represent the Australian identity."
Sisters Shaz Williams and Beverley Royal were also in attendance today to honour their late father who served in World War Two for the New Zealand Army.
"We're here today in memory of our dad who fought against the Japanese as part of the Maori Battalion," Ms Williams said.
"I've been training in this park for the last few years and when I saw they put in the Light Tower Memorial I thought it was a really smart idea and fits in perfectly with the venue and for the service.
"We also came today because it means for us a coming together of two nations as we're originally from New Zealand but now we live here and so it was really special to hear the Maori and New Zealand anthem being sung today with the Australian anthem."
The Anzac Day Dawn Service was followed by a traditional gunfire breakfast at the Orion Hotel.
