The ANZAC spirit

At dawn the more than 20,000 ANZACs were among 70,000 soldiers from the Allies to make landfall on the Turkish shoreline as they aimed to drive through to Istanbul, take Turkey out of the war and to provide supplies to Russia in its fight against Germany.

However, as history has shown, this did not go according to plan and what had been a bold move became a deadlock with the invading troops failing to reach their objective on the first day.

The ANZACs for the next eight months stood with their Allied brethren clinging to the land they had captured and suffering great casualties, before eventually withdrawing at the end of 1915.

According to the Australian War Memorial it is believed 8,700 Australian and 2,700 New Zealand soldiers lost their lives at Gallipoli, men and boys who stood strong in the face of battle, fighting for countless others not only back in their homeland but for those who were suffering under the AXIS powers.

Men and women from the Hilltops were a part of the fight during World War I, they then joined again in World War II and conflicts following, each and every one of them ensuring the freedoms and safety of their family and friends back home, as well as battling for the right and just, standing up against oppression and though many faced a lot of it, they were fighting against death and evil.

Though we can try and imagine the chaos, fear, anxiety, anger, sadness and bloodshed from the scenes on the shores of Gallipoli on April 25 in 1915, I don't think we can truly capture the horrific reality of what it was like, and though the methods are different and the ways of war have changed throughout the years there continues to be locals who join the armed forces for the same reasons as the men who jumped from those boats in 1915.

On April 25, 2024, we as locals come together to honour and pay our respects to the men and women who have served and are now serving us and our country, ensuring our safety, our freedom and our liberty.