Earlier this month, the Anzac Day Parade Brisbane Committee announced that the annual Anzac Day Parade in Brisbane has been cancelled, in support of the efforts to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
To help keep the spirit of Anzac Day alive, here are the many different ways you can celebrate and remember our fallen heroes on Anzac Day from the privacy of your home.
1. Watch the Anzac Day service on TV.
Watch the live broadcast of the Anzac Day Commemorative Service, to be held at 5:30 a.m. on Anzac Day. See here for details.
2. Digitised Content, Podcasts, and More
Digitised content and augmented virtual reality are now making it possible to experience war history. Explore Anzac Square Memorial Galleries even if the shrine is temporarily closed to the public. Underneath Anzac Square’s Shrine of Remembrance and Eternal Flame, the Anzac Square Memorial Galleries contains various collections on war history curated by the State Library of Queensland.
An “armchair glimpse” of the Memorial Galleries are now possible, by exploring the Anzac Square Memorial Galleries digitised content through the State Library’s One Search.
The Australian War Memorial wevsite also has a Museums at Home resource with videos, podcasts, NS other interactive technology See here for details.
3. Take virtual tours.
Take a virtual trip inside the rarest tank in the world. Named “Mephisto” by its crew, the A7V Sturmpanzerwagen was one of 20 deployed by the German Army in combat in late 2017. The 30-tonne behemoth was sent to Australia as a war trophy, after the 26th Battalion AIF, composed mainly of Queenslanders, retrieved it from the battle field, dragging the tank under cover of darkness until it was safely behind Australian lines.
Explore its combat history, check out the bullet damage, inscriptions and other hidden details through interactive displays in the Queensland Museum and this video preview.
4. Download the Anzac Correspondent Phone or Tablet App.
With the use of augmented reality and using a smartphone or tablet, the Anzac Correspondent app takes the user on a journey through events and places of interest in World War I, via the lens of a vintage 1918 camera.
If you want to try Anzac Correspondent for yourself, you can download it on the App Store or Google Play.
5. Apply for a Grave Memorial.
Few people know that before the Australian War Graves Commission was established, the ANZAC Day Commemoration Committee of Queensland allocated funds for our fallen heroes’ in foreign lands. Today, the Commission takes care of this and those of others who have subsequently died from illness or disease as a result of the war.
For those who aren’t covered by the above categories, the Commemoration Committee awards small, bronze memorial badges to be placed on graves and crematorium niches to properly recognize and honour a veteran’s service. Grave Memorial Grants are also available through an application process for headstones, lawn cemetery and crematorium plaques.
6. Look at the Places of Pride near you or submit an entry.
Places of Pride is the National Register of War Memorials. It is an online initiative which records the location and photos of every war memorial across the country.
Through the website, you can enter your location or suburb, find and learn more about a war memorial in your area, submit a memorial location, add photos, and share stories.
About Anzac Day
“ANZAC” refers to a combined force of the First Australian Imperial Force and New Zealand Army troops who landed on the bloody battlefield of Turkey’s Gallipoli Peninsula in the dawn of the 25th day of April, 1915, just nine months after World War I began.
Every year, over the past 104 years since then, Australia and New Zealand have honoured and observed ANZAC Day. The annual parade features former and current veterans, their families, and other groups involved in the Day of Remembrance.
