The Terrigal -Wamberal RSL Sub-Branch has organised the 2018 ANZAC Commemoration Services at Terrigal and Wamberal.

ANZAC Day was officially named in 1916 to mark the first major military action involving the Australian Imperial Forces (AIF) and the New Zealand Army Corps.

The Terrigal ANZAC Day Dawn March will commence at 5:15 am. The March will start at Church Street, continue along Campbell Cres and the Esplanade to the Cenotaph at Terrigal Beach.

The ANZAC Day Dawn Service will commence at 5:30 am at the Cenotaph at Terrigal Beach.

The ANZAC Day Main Service will commence at 11:00 am at the Breakers Country Club, 64 Dover Rd, Wamberal.

Road closures around Terrigal

Road closures will be in place in the immediate vicinity of the Terrigal shopping centre.

• Terrigal Esplanade, between Campbell Crescent and Kurrawyba Avenue, are closed from 5:00 am until the conclusion of the Dawn Service at approximately 7:00 am.
• A southbound diversion will be in place on Terrigal Esplanade, diverting traffic entering Terrigal onto Barnhill Road.
• Access to South Terrigal will be via Grosvenor Road and the Scenic Highway.
• Boat users heading to the haven are recommended to use Charles Kay Drive and the Scenic Highway route to avoid these closures.

Legacy

Legacy is a charity providing services to Australian families suffering financially and socially after the incapacitation or death of a spouse or parent, during or after their defence force service.
Legacy currently cares for around 100,000 widows and 1,900 children and disabled dependants throughout Australia. See more on the Legacy website.

Read about the sacrifices made by local ANZACS in World War 1 like the underage Private Bert Bean who was killed at Bullecourt and the remarkable life of Colonel James G Tedder who served in World War 1 with five of his sons.

Image courtesy Australian Army

Reverse arms

The tradition of reversing and resting on arms – that is, leaning on a weapon held upside down – has been a mark of respect or mourning for centuries, said to have originated with the ancient Greeks.

Descriptions of sixteenth-century military funerals provide the earliest documented instances of carrying arms reversed in more recent times.
Although Australian soldiers still rest on arms as a mark of respect for the dead, the short Steyr rifle, the present Australian service rifle, is difficult to carry reversed.

The Catafalque Party

The catafalque party consists of four members of an armed guard who stand, their heads bowed and their arms (weapon) reversed, facing outward approximately one metre from the coffin or catafalque as a symbolic form of respect for those who have fallen.

A watch or catafalque party was traditionally mounted around the coffin to ensure the safety of the body while it lay in state.

On ANZAC Day the flag is flown at half-mast until noon