ANZAC DAY IN HONIARA, SOLOMON ISLANDS
ANZAC Day celebrated today. Photo credit: Australia in Solomon Islands.
Each year on 25 April, Australians and New Zealanders gather to remember the servicemen and women who have served their nation in times of war, in conflicts or peacekeeping operations.
The New Zealand and Australian High Commissions in Solomon Islands have this morning held a dawn service at the Cenotaph, near Central Police Station, at 5.40am this morning.
New Zealand is the host of this year’s commemoration.
A catafalque party from the Australian Defence Force Academy in Canberra also supported the commemoration in Honiara.
On 25 April 1915, ninety-nine years ago, thousands of Australians and New Zealanders landed on the shores of Gallipoli, beginning a hard-fought campaign that lasted eight months, says Australian High Commissioner Andrew Byrne.
He explains, more than 8,700 lost their lives during the Gallipoli campaign, with more than 2- Thousand casualties on the first day alone.
Meanwhile, New Zealand High Commissioner Marion Crawshaw says, Anzac Day goes beyond the anniversary of the landing on Gallipoli in 1915.
High Commissioner Crawshaw adds, it is the day on which we remember New Zealanders and Australians who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations.
She says, the spirit of Anzac, with its human qualities of courage, mateship, and sacrifice, continue to have meaning and relevance today.