By Parker McKenzie
Monbulk RSL will be hosting a both a dawn service and morning service this ANZAC Day, on 25 April 2022.
Monbulk RSL president Bill Ford said the RSL will have both a dawn service and the main service during the day, with a slight difference compared to previous years.
“This year, my main service will be a little bit different in that we are doing the Cowey–Selman Kokoda student award we have been raising funds for,” he said.
“We’re doing the presentation to the winning student in the morning surface at 10am.”
The selected student will be sent on a fully funded treck of Kokoda Trail in Papua New Guinea later in the year, thanks to funds raised by Lilydale, Mt Evelyn and Monbulk RSL.
The dawn service will start at 5.45am, while the morning service will start at 9.30am with a march from Emerald Mitre 10. Both services will feature a bagpipe player and ceremonies honoring the sacrifices of Australian soldiers.
Mr Ford, who has been president of the RSL for eight years, said everyone is welcome to attend.
“The more who attend the more magnificent the services become,” he said.
“Everyone who does come goes away with feelings for the veterans who lost their lives and gets something out of it.”
ANZAC Day commemorates the Australian and New Zealanders who served and died in wars, conflicts and peacekeeping missions.
Mr Ford said ANZAC Day is the most sacred day on the calendar for him and other members of the RSL.
“It makes everyone appreciate and celebrate the lives of those veterans who died believing in the course of safety and a lifestyle for this country.”
“I do like to say thank you to the whole community, including the Yarra Ranges community, they support the RSL. People come from far and wide to our Dawn service and main services.”
