People in Singapore gathered early at Kranji War Memorial to commemorate the 101st anniversary of the major contributions made by Australian and New Zealand Army Corps.
On Monday 25 April, over 1,400 people arrived at Kranji War Memorial before sunrise to attend the Anzac Day Dawn Service – hosted by Australian High Commissioner, His Excellency Philip Green, in conjunction with the New Zealand High Commissioner, His Excellency Dr Jonathan Austin.
Before the service began, a traditional Anzac Day Gunfire Breakfast at the memorial was served – with authentic Anzac biscuits on offer for visitors to the war memorial.
Official guests, dignitaries and those in the ANZA community laid wreaths to offer their thoughts and condolences – not just for those who have perished in war, but also those still fighting for us currently. Military personnel from both the Australian and New Zealand Defence Forces were represented at the Service.
The Australian International School choir gave a performance of ‘Do Not Stand At My Grave And Weep’, and Avondale Grammar School Year 7 student Zoe MacLeod read the Funeral Oration by Pericles:
‘Each one, man by man, has won
imperishable praise
Each has gained a glorious grave –
Not that sepulchre of earth
wherein they lie
But the living tomb of everlasting
remembrance
Wherein their glory is enshrined.
For the whole earth is the
sepulchre of heroes
Monuments may rise and tablets
Be set up to them in their own land
But on far-off shores there is an
abiding memorial
That no pen or chisel has traced.
It is graven, not on stone or brass,
But on the living heart of
humanity.
Take these men as your example.
Like them, remember that
prosperity can be only for the free;
That freedom is the sure possession
of those alone
Who have courage to defend it.’
