Mt Barker’s upgraded war memorial and the We Remember Them Walk in Centenary Park received their first Anzac Day guests as residents and visitors came to honour those who have served.
Mt Barker RSL sub-branch president Bob Lynn said the town’s traditional dawn service on Saturday attracted about 200 people who heard Shire of Plantagenet president Len Handasyde urge everyone to embrace the values of the Anzacs who left Albany for World War I in November 1914.
He evoked the words of Padre Arthur White, the founder of the dawn service, who wanted to remember those whose last sight of Australia was the shores of Albany.
Cr Handasyde said those who volunteered and are honoured on plaques on the memorial trail came from all walks of life — sleeper hewers, coach builders, fruit pickers and carpenters, to name a few.
“It was a great range of experts who volunteered,” he said.
“All were changed, and many paid the ultimate price.
“Sacrifice and service outside oneself must remain our focus.
“We must operate for the good of others and ultimately for the good of all.”
Pastor Genevieve Milnes read the prayer.
Cr Handasyde said after the service that the upgrades had made the events of the day even more special.
“There is still some work to finish but the new plinths and plaques were lovely, and the lighting was really appropriate for the dawn service,” he said.
“It was quite surreal walking through.”
Mt Barker Community College played a starring role in the Anzac Day Service later that morning, marching through the town centre and providing the music courtesy of its Glee Club choir and concert band.
Head students Lochlan Tucker and Kyra Sheppard read a poem and the band played The Green Hills of Albany, the Glyn Lehmann song commissioned in 2014 to mark the centenary of troops leaving the city.
Wreaths were laid by shire and emergency services representatives, and Cr Ken Clements spoke about the history and significance of the red poppy in remembering the fallen.
Mr Lynn said it had been a memorable day, with the dawn service especially benefiting from the improvements to Memorial Park.
“The shire, with our help and grant funding, had put in lights for the first time and there were plinths and plaques recognising peacekeepers, the Boer War and the Indonesia-Malaysia conflict,” he said.
“Memorial Park is really coming together.”
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