Paul Fletcher (Bradfield, Liberal Party, Minister for Urban Infrastructure) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Anzac Day is a day of enormous significance all around Australia, and certainly in Bradfield we marked Anzac Day in a way that pays due regard to the rich history of military service and sacrifice in our area. This year, in commemorating the Centenary of Anzac, we acknowledged in particular three notable individuals from Bradfield: Sir Tannatt William Edgeworth David, who was instrumental in the detonation of Messines-Wytchaete Ridge and was an active member of the Hornsby community in the years following the war; Cecil Arthur Callaghan, a local of Gordon, who fought bravely in the defence of Singapore and was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath and was active in founding the Ku-ring-gai sub-branch of the RSL; and Dr Lucy Gullett, a pioneering and fearless doctor and Wahroonga local who, at great personal expense, travelled to Egypt to serve with the medical forces and the French Red Cross in London.

I had the privilege of attending three services on Anzac Day to mark the legacy of all those brave Australians and their service and sacrifice over so many years. At Roseville I attended the dawn service organised by the Roseville sub-branch of the RSL at the park just outside the Roseville Memorial Club. I attended the 7 am service at Wahroonga organised by the Sydney Northern Branch of the National Servicemen's Association and then the 9 am service at Turramurra organised by the same organisation. As is the case each year, the number of people in attendance was greater than ever and there was a very large representation of young people. I also acknowledge the organisers over many years of the dusk service held at the Kokoda memorial in Wahroonga, which, regrettably, was unable to be held this year because of ill health on the part of the organisers, Mr Owen Thomas and Mr Greg Hodgson, but I do want to acknowledge their work over so many years.

On Sunday I had the opportunity to attend the memorial service and ceremonial parade at Knox Grammar School, always an impressive and moving occasion. His Excellency the Governor-General, Sir Peter Cosgrove, was the Reviewing Officer. I also attended, the previous week, the Anzac commemoration service at the Anglican Church of St John in Gordon, which honours the 18 Battalion, or the Ku-ring-gai Regiment, as it is known, which is so tied up with the service in our part of Sydney. And, of course, that church holds two battlefield crosses, one from World War I and one from World War II. They are indeed very moving relics of conflict and the suffering that was endured by so many Australians.

In Bradfield, as around Australia, we marked Anzac Day and recognised the service and sacrifice of so many Australians over so many years.