Following the gunfire breakfast at the RSL, the Anzac Day march at 10.30am saw hundreds of people make their way to the Sturt Street cenotaph for the official ceremony with the wreath laying at 11am. 

Tammie Kite gave the oration, talking about how stories connect and resonate. She told how she discovered the story of her great uncle  coincidentally after finding a grave in France that shared the same name as her grandfather.

“It unravelled a story. Hector lived in Bond Street, Mount Pleasant. In only a generation, his story was lost and name forgotten.” 

Ms Kite has since learnt Hector Norman Close’s heritage and passed the knowledge on. 

Arch of Victory/Avenue of Honour committee member Paul Jenkins OAM watched the march from the balcony of the Golden City Hotel, commentating for Voice FM. He said it was such a spectacular sight. 

“To see the old servicemen, followed by so many young people and everyone in between was quite special,” he said. “I’ve never known so many to come to the Anzac Day service.” 

Servicemen Lieutenant Commander Andy Barnes and Chief Petty Officer Alex Kensington both travelled home to Ballarat for Anzac Day services. 

“I wanted it to be intimate and special for the 100th anniversary, so I came home from Sydney,” Commander Barnes said.

Officer Kensington said if he was going to do anything for Anzac Day, it was home in Ballarat. 

Scouts and Guides raised the flags at each of the region’s services, with almost all of our 500 Scouts involved in the day. 

Ballarat serviceman Donald McNeight marked the day with four generations of his descendants. 

About 15 members of his family had travelled to Ballarat to show their respect for the day with Mr McNeight, who served in New Guinea in World War II. 

The only trouble was deciding who would ride in the buggy with him in the march. 

City of Ballarat mayor John Philips said of the war: “A common statement was that it would be over by Christmas when they enlisted – how wrong they were.”