Maria Vamvakinou (Calwell, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to congratulate Kevin O'Callaghan, the president of the Craigieburn War Memorial and Remembrance Committee Incorporated, for all of his and his committee's hard work in the recent launch of the book and DVD Craigieburn Remembers: the history of the establishment & dedication of the Craigieburn War Memorial ANZAC Park.The book and DVD detail the history of the campaign to erect a war memorial in Craigieburn. In fact, as Kevin remembers, it was Fred Tyrrell, a veteran of World War II, having served as a radiographer in the Army Medical Corps in Darwin and Papua New Guinea, who first planted the seed in 2007, when he asked the very simple question: why can't Craigieburn hold its own Anzac Day service?

Ten years later, in 2017, they did exactly that. This year's service, in particular, was one of the largest we've seen in the area for some time. The Craigieburn War Memorial serves as an important reminder that there is no time like the present to honour the past and shape our future. I want to again congratulate and thank Kevin and all the tireless volunteers at the Craigieburn War Memorial and Remembrance Committee who have worked so hard to ensure that we never forget how fragile peace and democracy can be.

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