Australians have stopped in cities and towns across the country to mark Remembrance Day, pausing for a minute’s silence at 11:00am on what is also the 80th anniversary of the opening of the War Memorial in Canberra.
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, this is the second year in a row that large-scale events have not been possible in Canberra and at other locations.
Instead, people were encouraged to commemorate the occasion at their homes in smaller groups, on what is the 103rd anniversary of Armistice, and the end of World War I.
The Australian War Memorial is also marking its 80th year obscured from view, as construction continues on the $500 million expansion of the historic building.
Due to the construction, both the event and the Stone of Remembrance — a 9-tonne slab of rock — have been relocated to a position elsewhere in the memorial grounds.
At dawn, the Sydney Opera House was lit up with images of red poppies, in honour of the 60,000 Australians who died in WWI.
Later that morning, overcast skies contributed to the sombre mood at the Martin Place Cenotaph, where clusters of large red paper poppies adorned the footpath.
More than 200 people gathered for the 11:00am service, which was conducted in a socially-distanced fashion.
Air Vice-Marshal Vincent Iervasi delivered the reflection, acknowledging the Royal Australian Air Force’s centenary.
The sails of the Sydney Opera House will be illuminated once again this evening.
80 years of honouring ‘best and bravest’
On November 11, 1941, the Australian War Memorial was unveiled by then Governor-General Lord Gowrie.
The country had already entered into another European conflict alongside its Allied partners, and was stopped to pay tribute to those who fell during the Great War of 1914-1918.
“Australia gave unsparingly, ungrudgingly, the best and the bravest of our young manhood, and it is in their honour that this memorial has been erected,” Lord Gowrie said on the day.
More than 5,000 people attended the opening to hear his words, including Prime Minister John Curtin and 18 recipients of the Victoria Cross.
This year, the commemoration has been capped at 500 attendees, as the nation endures a threat of a different nature, with COVID-19 outbreaks still being reported.
The ACT has the highest rate of vaccination against COVID-19 in the country, at more than 95 per cent of its eligible population, but restrictions on larger gatherings are not due to lift until tomorrow.
Australian War Memorial director Matt Anderson paid tribute to those Australians who had lost their lives in conflict.
“We do not gather today to glorify war,” Mr Anderson said.
“Indeed, at its opening 80 years ago today, the then Governor-General Lord Gowrie VC said that when people leave this place they must utter ‘never again, never again.'”
Australians mark the day in small gatherings
About 150 people also gathered at the Hobart Cenotaph by the River Derwent to mark a minute’s silence.
Alec Young, a former Defence Force Major, said it was important to remember not just the deaths incurred during war, but those that came afterwards.
“It’s a significant day and should be a significant day for the nation and in fact those in the free world,” he said.
“Because remember, for as tragic as the loss of life is in war, the equal number of deaths occurs after that war, within 10 years of the war.
“So in effect, it’s a massive loss of life but it’s the value of freedom we give to it and above all it’s the freedom of people like you and me to be able to say what we want and mix with people as we want because we are free.”
Elsewhere, crowd sizes varied depending on COVID-19 restrictions in each city.
In Perth and Darwin, where restrictions are more relaxed, hundreds gathered to mark the occasion.
In Darwin, the outgoing Commander of Darwin-based First Brigade Brigadier Ash Collingburn acknowledged the importance of military families in the work Defence personnel do at home and as part of overseas operations.
“We cannot do what we do without the support of our loved ones,” he said.
Further south, there were concerns Alice Springs’ service might not go ahead due to recent heavy rain, but from sunrise, there was a picture-perfect blue sky to mark the day.
Dozens of people gathered for the service at Alice Spring’s Anzac Hill.
“I couldn’t have asked for better weather, I was very, very worried when I went to bed last night,” RSL sub-branch president Chris Clark said.
“Everything running through your head, all the worst-case scenarios. But luckily once the service actually got underway, everything went well and came together.”
