Maurice Goldstraw supplied/ Lilian Levy.
The 2025 ANZAC Day Commemorative Service and March in Junee saw over 1,500 attendees gather at the Junee Cenotaph to commemorate the 110th Anniversary of the Gallipoli Landing. They previously had a well attended Dawn Service and later that afternoon, a service was held at Junee Reefs which also saw a sizeable crowd.
The Main Service commenced at 10:15am with Ryan Croder, Madison Hazell, Dakota Huard, Ruby Lemmich, and Makayla Cameron from Junee High School reciting the names and dates of the 108 Junee residents that fell during WWI.
While this was happening, the ANZAC March formed up near Memorial Park, with over 300 people, including: veterans, recruits and staff from 1RTU RAAF Wagga, emergency response and first response organisations, school students, scouts, volunteers from local not for profit community organisations and members of the public, participating.
Greg Zakharoff RAAF JP MCIT (Retired), President of the Junee RSL Sub-Branch, provided an introduction and welcome.
George Baldry and Zailey Pratt from St Joseph’s Primary School read the poem Flanders Field. Rev David Hilliard from St Luke’s Anglican Church, Junee provided Prayers for The Fallen and Families.
Lt Col Daniel Swale, New Zealand Defence Force, presented an Address focussing on Pvt Wilfred Knight, the first New Zealand fatality at Gallipoli.
Pvt Knight was living in Junee when he signed up for WWI.
Cr Marie Knight, Deputy Mayor Junee Shire Council, reflected upon her recent visit to Gallipoli Cove.
Miss Bridget James gave the Commemorative Address, which featured her Great Grandfather, SGT Percy James “Jim” Smith, a former resident of Junee who did not return from WWI.
Wreaths were laid. The Ode was recited in Māori and English by Lt Col Daniel Swale, New Zealand Defence Force. The Last Post, a Minute’s Silence, and Reveille occurred.
Prayers of Hope and Protection were given by Father Paddy Sykes, St Joseph’s Catholic Church, Junee.
The New Zealand National Anthem, God Defend New Zealand, and the Australian National Anthem, Advance Australia Fair was played by the Junee-Cootamundra Band.
Harriet Corbett performed “We are One”.
After the Service concluded, many attendees retired to the Junee Ex-Services Memorial Club for a luncheon.
Greg Zakharoff said, “we had a sombre ANZAC Day starting off with our Dawn Service with over 600 people turning up. Our services have changed a lot. We had the Cootamundra and Junee town bands here playing for us and young Harriet Corbett at the very end sang a lovely Australian song, there were many people with tears in their eyes through the service.
“We had a representative of the New Zealand Defence Force here, Lt. Colonel Swale who gave a lovely talk about Wilfred Knight and his association with Junee and New Zealand and another young lady that the family had come up from Melbourne to join.
“It was just so good to see so many children out at the services, dawn, main and Junee Reefs. We’ve not had a bad word from anybody, which is fantastic. If anything it was hot, I felt for the troops lined up and the catafalque party, it was hot for them.
“It was a lovely day and the people of Junee should be very proud of themselves because they were very good.
“Junee Reefs had a couple of hundred people turn up out there and once again, Lt. Colonel Swale addressed them and Margaret Drum did a lovely job getting everything organised with her team.
“No one can take credit as it’s a team effort.
“I don’t know how we’re going to emulate it again next year, I’ll have to sit down and have a good think.
“Having the crosses on the ground had a profound effect on people. It’s surprising because you could look at 108 names up on a wall and you say “oh yeah, there’s a hundred and eight poor buggers”, but when you see one hundred and eight crosses each depicting a person, a body, a human, it makes people think, and that’s where the emotions come out.
“The girls from the High School read out the 108 names and I could see when they were reading them out, some of the attendees were starting to get quite emotional.
“I’d really like to thank the people of Junee, I’d really like to thank the business houses that helped us and the people that supported us, without that help and that support, we couldn’t have put together what we did. I’m very proud of the people that have helped us out. It was lovely.”
-Jack Murray
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