Coming Together This ANZAC Day

ANZAC Day is one of the most important days on our calendar as a time for us, as a community, to pause, reflect and come together.

Across the Whitsundays, services will be held in towns and communities from Bowen to Proserpine, Airlie Beach to Collinsville, and in our smaller rural areas. These gatherings are a chance for all of us to stand side by side and honour those who have served our nation and those who never returned.

As Mayor, I have the privilege of representing our community at these services, but ANZAC Day belongs to everyone.

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It belongs to the families who have carried the legacy of service through generations. It belongs to the veterans who continue to serve our community in different ways. And it belongs to every resident who takes a moment to remember the sacrifices that have shaped the freedoms we enjoy today.

Here in the Whitsundays, service and sacrifice are not distant concepts, they are part of our local story. From Gallipoli to the Western Front, from the Pacific to more recent conflicts, generations of Australians have answered the call to serve including men and women from right here in our region.

This year, we also recognise the theme “Women in Service”  acknowledging the vital role women have played, and continue to play, in defending our nation and supporting our communities.

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Among them are people like Commander Natasha Burney, who has ties to the Whitsunday community and served in Afghanistan — a reminder that the ANZAC spirit lives on in people from communities just like ours. 

Their stories remind us that the ANZAC spirit is not something distant, it is part of who we are as a community.

ANZAC Day is also about connection.

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Standing shoulder to shoulder at a dawn service. Watching the march. Sharing a quiet moment with family, friends and neighbours.

These traditions matter.

They ensure that the service and sacrifice of past and present servicemen and women is never forgotten and that future generations understand the cost of the freedoms we often take for granted.

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Bring your family. Bring your children. Help pass on the meaning of this day to the next generation.

Because remembrance is not just about looking back, it’s about ensuring those stories and values continue into the future.

This ANZAC Day, let’s stand together as a community, united in respect and gratitude.

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Lest we forget.

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