HILLS residents will pause to pay homage to those who lost their lives in WWI and subsequent conflicts on Saturday, Anzac Day, 25 April.
RSL sub-branches across the Dandenong Ranges are inviting people to commemoration services to remember those who gave up so much.
Boronia
A DAWN service will be held at the cenotaph at Boronia RSL on Dorset Road from 6am.
Cockatoo
LOCALS are invited to the Cockatoo RSL’s popular dawn service from 6am.
A traditional Anzac Day march will start outside the Cockatoo Primary School in Gembrook Road at 10.45am and finish at the town’s memorial.
Free nibbles and drinks will be available throughout the day plus games of two-up in the afternoon.
The RSL will be open until 7pm.
Emerald
A TRADITIONAL dawn service will be held at the Emerald cenotaph in Main Street at 6am, followed by a wreath laying ceremony.
A full Anzac Day service will be held later in the day and will commence at 10.30am with a March through the town from the cenotaph to the RSL sub-branch rooms in Memorial Avenue.
Following another wreath laying ceremony, locals will be invited to help commemorate the day with food and drinks available at the bar.
Veterans and their families could also try their hand at two-up which will run all afternoon.
Gembrook
AT THE rising of the sun, locals will take the time to remember those who gave their lives for Australia’s freedom.
Gembrook RSL will hold a traditional dawn service at 6am, followed by a full Anzac Day commemoration at 11am.
A special plaque in recognition of soldier settlers and their families will also be unveiled during the ceremony.
Kalorama
THE Anglican Church of Mt Dandenong will join together with the Dandenong Ranges RSL to commemorate Anzac Day.
A service will be held at the town’s Peace Memorial, Ellis Reserve, Kalorama, from 9am.
Monbulk
A DAWN service followed by a traditional Gunfire Breakfast will start Monbulk’s popular Anzac Day commemorations.
Those attending the dawn service are advised to assemble at the RSL in Main Street at 5.45am for a 6am start. Monbulk CFA Captain Peter Edyvane will address the dawn service and a piper will entertain the crowd.
A march will be held at 9.30am followed by a full Anzac Day service and wreath laying ceremony.
The RSL will be open until 8pm with plenty of entertainment on offer including the Anzac Day AFL clash between Essendon and Collingwood being played on the club’s big screen television.
There will also be a game of two-up.
Mt Dandenong
HILLS youngsters will commemorate Anzac Day a little earlier this year.
Mt Dandenong Primary School is hosting a special ceremony on Friday 24 April at 9am.
Mt Evelyn
FOR the first time ever Mt Evelyn RSL in Birmingham Road will host a dawn service from 6am, followed by a day of two-up at the nearby York on Lilydale, York Road, from 1-5pm.
Sassafras
DIGGERS, ex-service men and women, and locals will remember for who gave up so much on Saturday.
The Dandenong Ranges RSL Anzac Day service will start with a march down Mt Dandenong Tourist Road at 10.30am.
A memorial service will then be held at the Village Green Park on the corner of Mountain Highway and Mt Dandenong Tourist Road, from 11am.
Locals will also be invited to enjoy some light refreshments following the service.
Upwey-Belgrave
A DAWN service will be held at Upwey-Belgrave RSL, 1 Mast Gully Road from 6am.
An Anzac Day march will also be held at 9.30am in Main Street, Upwey, followed by a commemorative service at the RSL.
Locals will also have the chance to remember diggers at a service at the Belgrave memorial, from noon, on the corner of Wattle Avenue and Burwood Highway. The sub-branch will also be open for games of two-up, and a band to keep the crowd entertained.
