There is something about the stillness in the air and the solemn hush spreading over crowds at the cenotaph in Sturt Street that moves Alex Tascas. Every time.
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The Ballarat RSL president said it never mattered where in the world you attended an Anzac Day dawn service, it was special.
“Years ago I was posted in Singapore, the service started when it was really dark. Then you look up and, all of a sudden, you see row upon row of white crosses on lush green grass...that is a sight I’ll never forget,” Ms Tascas said.
“It’s always moving. There is something special about going along early in Ballarat with the whole family, watching the catafalque party as it mounts near the cenotaph, the white crosses in Sturt Street as daylight starts to break.”
Large crowds gathered for the dawn service.
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State league women’s soccer team Ballarat Eureka Strikers and TAC Cup under-18 football team North Ballarat Rebels were among the city’s sporting teams banding together to pay their respect before dawn.
The service was short, this year without a guest speaker.
Ms Tascas said the format was flexible, depending on what was relevant each year.
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Ballarat RSL opted for basic tradition amid Anzac centenary celebrations, one year on from a large occasion to commemorate the Gallipoli landing.
Ms Tascas expected 2018 to also be a larger ceremony and crowd, marking 100 years since the end of World War I.
Ballarat RSL hosted a gunfire breakfast, free to the public, following the tradition of soldiers eating a large meal before battle each morning.
Sausage, bacon and eggs were sizzling on the barbecue. Rum coffee was also a popular choice for those hoping a to warm up a little.
The piper
For Federation University pipe major Neil MacDonald, he said he gets chills each time bugler Tamara Barrett sounds the Last Post in the Ballarat dawn service.
He then must step up to play the bagpipes.
“Play the dawn service is always very emotional for me,” Mr MacDonald said.
“My father was a prisoner of war in Burma. Each time I play, it brings back memories of my father.”
Mr MacDonald had marched in honour of his father on Anzac Day each year in Melbourne for the 10 years after his father died. This was his fifth year piping for the Ballarat dawn service. Proudly, Mr MacDonald’s two young grandsons attend have woken up early to attend the past couple of Anzac Days.
“It’s really lovely having them here,” Mr MacDonald said. “It’s just a lovely service. I enjoy doing playing on such a solemn occasion.”
Mr MacDonald will also play with the Federation University Australia Pipe Band for the Ballarat Anzac march and commemorative service and wreath-laying at the Ballarat cenotaph late in the morning.
Nancy Sedgwick’s story
Each Anzac Day, Nancy Sedgwick takes a moment to remember her father and his story.
Leslie Lee survived horrendous battles at Gallipoli and the Somme, wounded at both fronts, in World War I.
He rarely spoke about his experience. Nancy’s family has pieced together what they could from old telegrams sent home.
“We believe my father was one of the last men rescued by Simpson and his donkey – we definitely know he was taken from the field on a donkey. One of the chaps on the boat he came on told him that unfortunately Simpson had died, shot, not long after,” Nancy said.
Her father woke on the beach at Gallipoli and was lifted on to a boat in a large cargo net filled with other wounded men.
They were taken to Egypt for medical treatment and, once recovered, her father was sent to France and fought across the Somme.
Finishing the war with a Sargent’s rank, the Maffra-raised Leslie Lee later retired with his family to Skipton Street in Redan.
Nancy attends the dawn service in Ballarat each year with her whole family. She said it was a special way to pay tribute to her dad.