Lighthorseman Simon Pavitt laying a wreath at the Harden Cenotaph.
Harden locals from near and far gathered at Newson Park last Friday morning at 10:45 am for the 2022 Remembrance Day service.
The flags were lowered to half-mast before the beginning of the ceremony. Tim O’Keeffe – who served in the Australian Army – lead the ceremony joined by Councillor Tony Flanery, three Lighthorsemen on horseback, Murrumburrah Public School, along with a strong crowd of over a hundred community members that paid their respects.
The crowd respectfully stood facing west for The Last Post and the minute of silence then faced east for The Rouse while the flags were raised followed by the crowd singing the Australian National Anthem.
MPS school captain Ellie Ward read her speech, while Councillor Flanery recited Flanders Field and Mr O’Keeffe also addressed the crowd.
Members of the public were then invited up to the Cenotaph to lay wreaths in honour of the fallen family
members and friends before the service concluded.
Three Lighthorseman on horseback proceeded to Murrumburrah for their second service of the day.
Whilst the Murrumburrah service was smaller in numbers compared to its Harden counterpart, the respect and spirit were still as strong as ever.
Reverend David addressed the crowd and offered prayer while two young students from Trinity Catholic School read a poem.
A minute’s silence and the last post was also observed during the ceremony before it wrapped up before people went back to their daily routines.
On 11 November 1918, the guns of the Western Front fell silent after four years of continuous warfare on a scale no soldier had seen previously.
With their armies retreating and close to collapse, German leaders signed an Armistice in Versailles, bringing to an end the First World War.
As a mark of respect to those who have served, Australians pause at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day on the eleventh month to observe one minute’s silence and remember those who died or suffered for Australia’s cause in all wars and armed conflicts.
In Australia and other allied countries, including New Zealand, Canada and the United States, 11 November became known as Armistice Day–a day to remember those who died in World War One. After World War Two, the Australian Government agreed to the United Kingdom’s proposal that Armistice Day be renamed Remembrance Day to commemorate those who were killed in both World Wars.
Presently, the loss of Australian lives from all wars and conflicts is commemorated on Remembrance Day.
The Remembrance Day Red Poppy has special significance for Australians. Worn each year, the red poppies were among the first to flower in the devastated battlefields of northern France and Belgium in the First World War. In soldiers’
folklore, the vivid red of the poppy came from the blood of their comrades soaking the ground.
The Red Poppy was adopted in 1919 as an emblem of the day and since then has been accepted as the Emblem of Remembrance. Australians wear a Red Poppy on Remembrance Day for three reasons.
Firstly, in memory of the sacred dead who rest in Flanders’ Fields.
Secondly, to keep alive the memories of the sacred cause for which they laid down their lives; and thirdly, as a bond of esteem and affection between the soldiers of all Allied nations and in respect for France, our common battleground. All over the world, Remembrance Day is a respected day with services everywhere including one in the UK which had King Charles lead the ceremony, the first time as King. Canberra held the National Ceremony at the Australian War Memorial.
The National Ceremony was held in the Captain Reg Saunders Courtyard, the first such ceremony to be held without social restrictions since 2019. The ceremony was attended by the Governor General of the Commonwealth of Australia, His Excellency General the Honourable David Hurley AC DSC (Retd) and his wife, Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley.
All around the world, a moment of complete silence was experienced all the way over in the UK to the twin towns of Harden-Murrumburrah.
Jack Murray, Tim Warren
