Mayor's ANZAC Day message

Published on 25 April 2017

On behalf of Mildura Rural City Council I’d like to acknowledge all servicemen and women, both past and currently serving – this special day is all about what you have done, and continue to do, for us and our country. We are in your debt.

ANZAC Day is always a day of mixed emotions for me.

It’s a day that reminds me just how proud we should be of our brave soldiers who continue to put their lives at risk representing our country across the globe, demonstrating the same bravery, determination and mateship that made the ANZAC tradition as strong as it is.

But it’s also a day of great sadness, as we reflect on the shocking toll the First World War, and proceeding wars, have taken on our region and many others across the country.

The Great War alone saw about 30 per cent of our population leave our region to fight for our safety and future security, and they were away from their families and friends for almost five years – a massive sacrifice.

Even more costly in human terms is the number of soldiers who never returned to their loved ones.

According to Mildura RSL figures, of the 1457 men and women who left the Sunraysia region to fight in the First World War, 375 men lost their lives, while about 800 were either wounded or suffered severe illness.

Sadly, we have continued to see our brave men and women leave Sunraysia for overseas postings in the many other major conflicts that have occurred since the First World War, and not return.

Even now, as we mark ANZAC Day 2017, we have soldiers from our region serving overseas, as generations before them have done, to provide the safety and security we enjoy today.

This year also marks 100 years since the Flanders Offensive, where thousands of ANZACs lost their lives on the Western Front, including many from Sunraysia.

People from over 40 nations were involved in the conflicts of World War One. Today we have people from well over 60 nations residing in our region in peace, many of those nations having been involved in conflict.

If we think this through we can see how Australia has embraced former enemies, resolved differences and become a leader in showing the world how to live and work together in harmony. I think this would also please those that gave their lives for a better world.

I also wonder what the early soldier settlers in this region, who returned from war and came to call our townships home, would think of the world in 2017.  I wonder if they thought future generations would remember their efforts more than 100 years later. I also think about their passion for a secure life and nation, their determination to protect their fellow man, their will to stand and die for those around them. Just what were their thoughts and what did they think their actions would lead to?

Today we look around us and see the result of such bravery and sheer determination. Our people stood and fought, drew on that determination and created the peaceful and enjoyable part of the world we call Mildura and surrounds. What a legacy these brave men and women have left for us. I think our diggers would be pleased to see healthy smiling faces and families, businesses, homes and streets, which are all here as a result of their actions. I am grateful for what they have provided.

Lest We Forget

Cr Glenn Milne