25 April 2011
For immediate release
Kemish: ANZAC Day, courage, mateship and sacrifice,
still has meaning
ANZAC Day dawn services were held at war memorials around Papua New Guinea today, with the two major ceremonies conducted at Isurava Memorial and Bomana War Memorial Cemetery.
This year’s ANZAC Day commemoration marks the 96th anniversary of the beach landing at Gallipoli, Turkey in 1915. It also marks the 70th anniversary of the Siege of Tobruk and the Battle of Greece and Crete.
Australian High Commissioner, Ian Kemish AM, who attended the ceremony at Bomana said that ANZAC Day goes beyond the anniversary of the Gallipoli landing. It is the day remembered by Australians and New Zealanders, of the servicemen and women who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations.
“The spirit of ANZAC, with its human qualities of courage, mateship, and sacrifice, continues to have meaning and relevance for our sense of national identities, and define us as peoples,” he said.
Mr Kemish said Australians are also reminded on ANZAC Day of the close and enduring links between Australia and Papua New Guinea. During the Second World War Australia faced its toughest tests here in Papua New Guinea – on the Kokoda Track, in Milne Bay, Buna, Gona and Bougainville, to name only a few. These places have now become part of the history Australia shares with Papua New Guinea.
He said, “We will never forget the bravery of those Papua New Guineans who supported us during the bitter campaigns of World War Two. Many Australian servicemen owed their lives to the selfless courage of these people.
“This ANZAC Day let us consider the great sacrifice made by the generations who came before us. And let us treasure their true and lasting legacy - the freedom we enjoy today.
“Lest we forget”.