Hundreds gathered at the Lakes Entrance RSL on ANZAC Day to honour the service and sacrifice of Australian and New Zealand forces, with messages of remembrance, unity and the enduring ANZAC spirit at the centre of the ceremony.
Personnel from RAAF Base East Sale joined veterans, emergency services, families and community members for the annual service, which featured a catafalque party of Navy and Air Force pilot trainees.
Lakes Entrance RSL president Peter Tunnage welcomed attendees, describing the occasion as a significant day for reflection and commemoration.
“As president of Lakes Entrance RSL, I take this opportunity to welcome you to our main service for today,” he said.
Mr Tunnage spoke about the origins and meaning of the ANZAC spirit, noting the values of mateship, courage, endurance and sacrifice were evident even before Gallipoli, but were brought into sharp focus during the 1915 campaign.
“These bonds include mateship, courage, endurance and sacrifice,” he said.
He said those values also extended to ingenuity, good humour and a commitment to helping others, and had continued through conflicts and peacekeeping missions to the present day.
“Today is our special day when we commemorate those who have fallen in battle, but it is also a day where we reaffirm our commitment to one another,” he said.
Mr Tunnage also used the address to express the board’s position on Victoria Cross recipient Ben Roberts-Smith, stating the board stood in solidarity with him and was critical of his treatment, particularly in the media.
Guest speaker Senior Naval Officer Michael Wisniewski reinforced the importance of ANZAC Day as a time to remember those who served and reflect on the values that continue to shape the nation.
“We gather here today, as Australians have done for generations — to remember,” he said.
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He said ANZAC Day was ultimately about people — young Australians from communities like Lakes Entrance who stood together in service of something greater than themselves.
“Courage. Duty. Loyalty. And above all, service to others — these are the qualities we now call the ANZAC spirit,” he said.
Senior Naval Officer Wisniewski said those values had endured through generations of service and continued to be reflected in the work of the Australian Defence Force.
“In the military, where you come from does not matter… what matters is that you stand beside your mates,” he said.
“It is one of the clearest reminders that despite our differences, we are stronger when we stand together as one team.”
He also acknowledged the role of families who support serving personnel, as well as those who never returned.
“Their sacrifice reminds us that the freedoms we enjoy today were not won easily,” he said.
The service concluded with the laying of wreaths, the Last Post and a minute’s silence, as the community paid tribute to those who served.
Lest we forget.
