- 10,000 brave Gallipoli cold -
26.04.2003 18:10:03
A 10,000-strong crowd of Australians and New Zealanders shivered through the ANZAC Day dawn service at Gallipoli yesterday, festooned in flags and bearing red poppies in remembrance of those who died in battle.
Turkey drew a tight security cordon around ANZAC Cove, with a naval vessel patrolling offshore and military police stationed along roads.
The ANZAC pilgrims had to walk 2km in the dark, past groups of armed soldiers, because new security measures banned buses from driving past the ceremonial site.
ANZAC Landing at Gallipoli 1915 (note the soldiers!)
Organisers said attendance was down on last year`s 15,000, suppressed by terrorism threats, the war in Iraq and fears of SARS.
An alcohol ban and the choice of wartime ballads, Australian folk songs and poetry readings made the four-hour wait more subdued than last year, when revellers rocked to music booming from loudspeakers.
But the crowd was in high spirits, with a cheeky chorus of "Pete, Pete, give us a wave" when Peter Costello arrived to represent Australia.
In his speech, the federal Treasurer urged the gathering to remember the Australians now serving in theatres of war. He paid homage to the original ANZACs and to the nation and ideals they helped create.
Until the ANZACs, the story of Australia had been one of settlement, colony and federation, he said.
But ANZAC gave the nation a consciousness of itself, the knowledge that Australians were distinct and different and now proud, with their own feats of courage and their own history on the international stage.
West Australian couple Sandy Humphry, 78, and his wife Crystal, 72, were invited to sit in the VIP area on their first visit to Gallipoli.
"It was something we`d heard about, talked about, sung about and watched on TV and never had the chance to attend before," Mrs Humphry said.
Most of the visitors were young Australians who draped, glued and tattooed the national flag in a mass display of patriotism.
"I cried, it was so moving," said Alina Williamson, 20, of Queensland.
Her friend Kim Syzmanski, 27, of Western Australia, draped in a flag, said: "I`m absolutely proud to be Australian.
With all the terrorism I did have second thoughts about coming here, but it`s such an important event you`ve just got to do it."
In the Persian Gulf, Defence Minister Robert Hill addressed sailors at a dawn service aboard HMAS Kanimbla.
His audience was among 3500 Australian soldiers celebrating ANZAC Day abroad with dawn services, traditional breakfasts with tea and a tot of rum and games of two-up.
Senator Hill told them Australian forces` latest action had "drawn a line in the sand" in Iraq, warning Saddam Hussein-like despots they would no longer be tolerated and that the war on terror would continue to be prosecuted.
acknowledge:
by The Australian
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au
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