By Parker McKenzie
Local Rotary and CFA volunteers have collaborated to bring an ANZAC Day Dawn Service back to the Ferntree Gully Quarry.
The service will be held on Monday 25 April at Quarry Reserve, Ferntree Gully, from 5.45am to 6am.
Ferntree Gully CFA Captain Seamus Smith said the service had been held at the quarry in previous years, but the original organisers weren’t able to hold it in 2022.
“It was acknowledged through our networks that we really missed it over the last couple of years when we weren’t able to have it due to the pandemic,” he said.
“When we found out that it was not going to be able to be put together by the original team, we got together with Rotary and combined to get the event back up and running again.”
The service will feature a Remembrance to the fallen, the laying of wreaths, the ode and the Last Post, a minutes silence, a Reveille and the national anthem.
Rotary Ferntree Gully co-president Christine Anderson said the ambiance and scenery of the quarry make it “magic”.
“It’s a very unique setting, mainly because the sun comes up over the mountains and then the echo against the rock face,” she said.
“Usually there are between 300 and 500 people, but this year we’ve been advertising very heavily, so we don’t know what to expect.”
St Joseph’s College will be involved in the service and a bugler will be present.
Mr Smith said the service will be an opportunity for the community to stay connected and break down barriers of isolation.
“Being ANZAC Day, it’s got specific relevance as well to all the things that we enjoy in Australia,” he said.
“It is part of who we are and we don’t want to be sitting and isolated in different areas. You want to get people together and community events like this and Knox Festival are extremely vital.”
