Victorians will pause today to honour the brave Australian servicemen and women who have defended our nation at war.
At schools, businesses and homes all over the state, communities will reflect on Remembrance Day by marking a minute’s silence, or by purchasing a poppy from the volunteers collecting for the RSL Remembrance Day Poppy Appeal.
Victorians are proud of our wartime legacy, and we owe a great debt of gratitude to the men and women who have answered their country’s call. They fought for the very freedom Australia enjoys today.
Many Victorians will gather at the Shrine of Remembrance, where students will lay wreaths on behalf of their own communities. Thousands more will pay their respects at local services held around the state.
This year, buglers will line Melbourne city street corners and perform the Last Post, so Victorians going about their business have a chance to reflect and remember our veterans.
So many of us share a connection with war. It may be a grandfather who negotiated the rugged clifftops of Gallipoli, an uncle who stared down the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War, or a daughter on the front line in Afghanistan.
While many families welcome their sons and daughters home, others are left devastated by the reality of armed conflict. Today, and every day, we grieve with them, and we thank them for their sacrifice.
The memories of the fallen linger on in photographs, in letters kept by loved ones, or at cenotaphs and war memorials all over Victoria.
We will remember them.
Quotes attributable to Premier Daniel Andrews
“Remembrance Day is an important time to reflect on the young Australians throughout history who have bravely served our country.”
“We have so much to be thankful for – Victoria would not be what it is today without the great sacrifice of our servicemen and women.”
Reviewed 19 August 2020