ANZAC DAY

Mr WHETSTONE (Chaffey) (15:38): I rise to speak about some of the ANZAC Day ceremonies I attended last Thursday. As the Last Post rang out across the Riverland and the Mallee on ANZAC Day, thousands of people in Chaffey reflected on the sacrifice by Australian men and women to protect our country. These people endured unimaginable horrors, but when their mates fell down, they were there to pick them up, all so that we can live with the opportunities and freedom we enjoy today.

Thousands of people attended services across the region on Thursday 25 April to pay their respects with some of the biggest attendance numbers that the region has seen in recent times. What was most encouraging was the presence of the younger generation and it seems to be growing year by year. At one local service, I spoke to a Loxton World War II pilot, Howard Hendrick, who completed 31 bombing missions over Europe, and in May 1945, Mr Hendrick was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his service to 460 Squadron. He said that, for many years, he did not talk openly about his war experiences but that, in the past seven or eight years, he had been passing on his experience to the young by speaking to various community organisations and helping our youth to learn about the world wars. At 94, he still flies at the Loxton Aero Club.

I also spoke to Harry Lock, a Renmark man, who enlisted in the Australian Army in 1940 when he was just 19 years of age. He told me that there were rats in holes that would never get out, yet it was the mateship that got them through. It is Renmark's John Lill who is believed to be the Riverland's last surviving World War II prisoner of war. John's wife, who was told he was missing in action, always believed that he was still alive. Today, John believes that there will never be a more important day than ANZAC Day.

Travelling the region, judging from what I saw when attending the services at Barmera, Renmark and Waikerie, attendances have never been better. At Renmark, they marked 100 years since the Royal Australian Navy conducted its first ceremonial fleet into Sydney Harbour. At the Berri RSL service involving 90 students I met Meg Gillespie, a school prefect, who addressed the 200-strong gathering. She said that she was 17, the same age her grandfather was when he landed in Gallipoli.

Again, in relation to unmarked veterans' graves, as has occurred over the past five years, Renmark Girl Guides this year joined with the Renmark Scouts in visiting Renmark, Paringa and Lyrup cemeteries and putting flags up at ex-servicemen's graves. My personal highlight of the Renmark service was the old war plane flying over as the Last Post sounded. It was an ex-military 1955 Trojan used in the Vietnam War—1,425 horsepower just jugging along. It really did bring a tear to many eyes.

Our service men and women showed strength, courage, determination, endurance, mateship and, above all, bravery. Thousands of Riverlanders working on fruit blocks left their families behind and enlisted to fight, and some never returned to see their loved ones. It is fitting that the number of people attending ANZAC Day services across the region is increasing, and the younger generation is further realising the sacrifice these men and women made.

One thing that really was very moving, particularly at two services I attended, was the presence of the young and the involvement they are now having with the ANZAC Day services. It really was a bit of a tear-jerking moment for me to look across to see four generations of family there—a great-grandfather, a grandfather, a father and his children—and to see those young children in tears, finally realising exactly what ANZAC Day represents, exactly what their forefathers had done to preserve this great country we live in.

It is a great affirmation that our younger generations understand what ANZAC Day means to this great country, the sacrifices that men and women made, the ultimate sacrifice some made and realise exactly what they had done and demonstrated to safeguard our borders.