Strong support for Anzac Day

THE public response was bigger than anyone could have imagined.

When the Cairns Post first reported the city’s annual Anzac Day service at the Martyn St war graves was in danger of folding due to a lack of volunteers, the response from the public was swift.

Within hours of the Post hitting the stands at newsagents the RSL already had offers of help pouring in.

The decision was quickly made – the Martyn St service in Edge Hill would go on.

Held at 4.28am, it is the city’s only Anzac Day commemoration held at the same time troops first landed on the shores of Gallipoli.

The importance of the service was not lost on Cairns.

A record crowd of more than 3000 people came together in the dark in a show of strength that will hopefully give organisers confidence the tradition can continue for years to come. The Edge Hill service was just one of dozens attended by tens of thousands of people right across the region yesterday.

At Cardwell, initial plans were put on hold when the town’s RSL SubBranch failed to gain permission to conduct the traditional Anzac Day march along the township’s main thoroughfare, Victoria Street, which is also a section of the Bruce Highway.

Safety concerns were the major issues raised in delaying permission, but a compromise was agreed upon by the RSL Sub-Branch, Cassowary Coast Regional Council and the Department of Transport and Main Roads. The Cardwell march went ahead as planned.

With tension on the global stage around North Korea and in the Middle East, it is more important than ever that our Anzac Day traditions are kept alive.