By RUSSELL BENNETT
THE minute’s silence seemed to last the full length of Emerald’s hour-long Anzac Day dawn service on Monday morning.
Thousands – men, women, and children from all walks of life – began converging on Anzac Place alongside the RSL more than an hour before the dawn service even started at 5.30am. Each of them played their own small part in what is certainly the town’s proudest tradition.
Together in silence, they stood as a lone piper marched towards the memorial playing Amazing Grace.
“I cannot see you, but I know you,” said Emerald RSL president Peter Maloney in a pointed address before the sun had come up.
The Vietnam veteran had refused to even step foot inside an RSL for more than 40 years following the treatment he and his comrades received on their return from battle.
But in recent years he has become his home town RSL’s proudest member.
The stunning transformation first came about as he watched the Anzac march through the heart of the town some years ago.
On Monday morning he spoke about the impact that Anzac Place and Anzac Walk had both made to the town 12 months after they were officially unveiled by the Governor-General, Sir Peter Cosgrove.
“It is now an enduring part of the Emerald landscape,” Mr Maloney said.
In his address, he spoke about the six qualities of the Anzac spirit – endurance, courage, ingenuity, good humour, larrikinism, and mateship.
But he also spoke about this year being the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Long Tan.
Nearly 50,000 Australians served in Vietnam, with 520 losing their lives in active service.
Those who returned faced vilification and abuse in their own country, and Mr Maloney spoke about his own experiences with the RSL at the time.
“We remember those who’ve been victims – physically and mentally – of armed conflicts,” he said.
“We need to help the younger generations understand why they have the freedom they have today.
“The sun is setting on our heroes of the largest war, and now the responsibility rests on my generation.”
And it was those of a much younger generation – students of Emerald Secondary College and Emerald Primary School – who played one of the most important roles in the Emerald dawn service.
Matilda Sinclair from Emerald Secondary College spoke about her own experiences on the Kokoda Track last year.
Two locals were also celebrated on Monday morning, with medals presented to honour their dedicated service to their country in peacetime, while the service was closed by Mark Fenby’s emotion-charged rendition of the John Williamson classic, True Blue.
Again, those in attendance stood in silence.
