Craig Laundy (Reid, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On Sunday morning I attended a special Remembrance Day ceremony in Davey Square, Strathfield. Of course Remembrance Day is a solemn and important occasion every year. But this ceremony was special, because it involved the official unveiling of two projects from Reid's Anzac centenary grants program. The first was the refurbishment of the Davey Square Memorial. Originally located on a corner in Homebush, the memorial was relocated to Davey Square in 1978 and is an integral part of how Strathfield residents commemorate our service men and women, both past and present. Across the road from the memorial now stands a new memorial wall, and on Sunday we unveiled the memorial and rededicated 339 plaques commemorating local Strathfield servicemen who fought in World War I, World War II and the Korean War campaigns. It has been a long journey for these plaques. Originally on display in the now-demolished Homebush-Strathfield RSL, the plaques have been in the safe care of Marlene Doran OAM for years, kept hidden under a bed. On Sunday we had with us relatives of many of the men named on the plaques. Some had travelled across the country to take part in the rededication ceremony. On behalf of all the residents and families, I would like to thank my Anzac committee—Dr Abdurrahman, Allan Chapple, Marlene Doran, Colin Hodges, Alice Kang, Robert Ridge, Bob Turner and Harry Withers—for all their hard work. Without their friendship and support, we could not have achieved the results we have for Reid. To our service men and women: lest we forget.