Anzac Day shift for southern RSL
ELEPHANT rock will again be eerily empty this Anzac Day as the annual Dawn Service is relocated to the Currumbin RSL for the second consecutive year.
Traditionally about 20,000 people gather at the iconic beachside location on April 25, but the Currumbin RSL Sub Branch board has decided to host the service at the club cenotaph as it did in 2020.
The RLS’s community relationships manager Kerry Shepherd said it didn’t feel right to host an event of such magnitude when organisers
would have no control over the crowd.
“Because of the sheer magnitude of the event we usually start planning as soon as the last one is over. But with it cancelled in 2020 we felt hosting such a large event at short notice, and with the likelihood of last-minute cancellations, it was not wise,” she said.
“This doesn’t mean that it will always be at the club, rather it will be reviewed annually and in 2022 could return to Elephant Rock.
“It is really sad but the decision was given a lot of consideration by the board.”
Ms Shepherd said in a bid
to connect the community in other ways, the club had organised a community drive commemorative art piece, The Crafted Poppy project.
Due to be installed across three iconic locations on April 18, more than 9000 poppies have been tirelessly hand knitted by more than 100 members of the community, including students from Currumbin State School.
“Each of the flowers have been individually made and are all different, which really adds to the uniqueness of this project,” she said.
Volunteers are frantically finalising the project that will see white, red and purple poppies attached to recycled nets from local tennis club, Gold Coast Pickletball and the Currumbin RSL Fishing Club.
Once complete, a white one will be laid over Elephant Rock, red displayed at the Currumbin RSL and the purple installation will adore Dune Cafe at Palm Beach.
The red signifies the traditional
Fields of Flanders commemoration, white symbolises peace and the purple flowers recognise animal service.
“It’s the first time we’ve done such a wide scale installation and we’ll be dropping 5000 poppies on the facade of the club, it will be quite lovely,” she said.
“The white installation at Elephant Rock will be sensitively laid to look after the lizards and other animals that call it home.”
Veterans will have priority to attend the club’s Dawn Service and midmorning, and it intends to live stream the service for public viewing.
IT IS REALLY SAD BUT THE DECISION WAS GIVEN A LOT OF CONSIDERATION BY THE BOARD KERRY SHEPHERD