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Remembrance Day 2022

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Good Morning                                                                                          
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We would like to acknowledge we are meeting on Jaara people country, of which members and elders of the Dja Dja Wurrung community and their forebears have been custodians for many centuries.
On this land, the Jaara people have performed age old ceremonies of celebration, initiation and renewal.
We acknowledge their living culture and their unique role in the life of this region.
 
 
World War I began in 1914 and lasted for four years.  More than 60000 Australians were killed, many more were wounded and many more suffered for the rest of their lives.
At 5am on 11 November 1918, the German government representatives accepted the Armistice terms presented to them by the allies.
The armistice became effective at 11am the same day, and as the guns fell silent on the Western Front in France and Belgium, four years of hostilities ended.
In Australia and the other allied countries, 11th November became known as Armistice Day, a day to remember those who died in World War 1.
After World War II the Australian Government agreed to the United Kingdom's proposal that Armistice Day be renamed Remembrance Day to commemorate those who were killed in both World Wars.
Today the loss of all lives from all wars and conflicts is commemorated on Remembrance Day in Australia and the other commonwealth countries.
Remembrance Day is not a day for parades or to celebrate a victory. It is a day to remember all those brave servicemen and women who gave their lives in the defence of our nation. It is also a day to remember all those ex servicemen and women who returned from hostilities only to suffer with physical or mental injuries received as a result of those hostilities, and to remember the many ex servicemen and women who today are homeless as a result of their service and who have to live in substandard conditions. Remembrance day is just another day. We should be remembering all these people for every day of every year, for without their service we would not be enjoying the conditions that we enjoy in this great country of ours.
As a mark of respect to those who have died and suffered, we will be observing one minute’s silence at 1100 to reflect on the loss and suffering caused by war.
 
 Today we honour another local hero
                          
Lieutenant John Harris  
 
John was born in Creswick and was working as a hairdresser when he  applied to enlist on 11th March 1915 and  took the Oath on 15th March.
 
He enlisted at Creswick on 28th April in ‘B’ Company, 24th Battalion having  had previous experience as a Lieutenant in Senior Cadets, for 3½ years.
He was posted to 24th Battalion, Broadmeadows, on 28th April and  promoted to Sergeant on 23rd June.
John then proceeded to join the British Expeditionary Force on Gallipoli Peninsula on 30th August 1915.
 
He sailed from Mudros & disembarked at Alexandria on 1st January 1916 and then on  to Marseilles arriving there  on 26th March.
He was promoted to Warrant Officer, Class 1. on 1st April and then  to 2nd Lieutenant on 12th August.
 
He was wounded in action on 26th August and taken to 4th Australian Field Ambulance with gunshot wound to his left arm. He re-joined his Battalion on 30th August.
 
He was promoted to Lieutenant on 12th November.  
 
John was admitted to Casualty Clearing Station on 14th February having been  diagnosed with scabies. He was transferred by ambulance train to Rouen on 19th February and  admitted to No. 8 General Hospital, Rouen. He was  discharged to Base Depot on 8th March.
 
He resumed duties from seconded list & re-joined the 24th Battalion on 18th March.
 
John was wounded in action & reported missing on 3rd May and  later reported killed in action in the field.
 
 It was recorded that “Lieutenant J. Harris was killed by enemy shell-fire whilst leading his platoon to the 3rd Obstacle in the Attack on the Hindenburg Line near Bullecourt on 3rd May 1917. The body of this officer was not buried as he was in a position too advanced to permit  recovery”.
 
His mother - Mrs. Margaret Harris of  Albert Street, Creswick, was granted a pension of 30/- per fortnight from 19th July 1917. His father (James) received a Memorial Scroll in 1921 & Plaque in 1922.
 
MEDALS RECEIVED –  1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal 
 

Reading of poems by students from Creswick Primary, Creswick North Primary and St Augustines PS
 
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Creswick Primary School.  
 
I went to see the soldiers
by Kenny Martin

I went to see the soldiers, row on row on row,
And wondered about each so still, their badges all on show.
What brought them here, what life before
Was like for each of them?
What made them angry, laugh, or cry,
These soldiers, boys and men.

Some so young, some older still, a bond more close than brothers
These men have earned and shared a love, that's not like any others
They trained as one, they fought as one
They shared their last together
That bond endures, that love is true
And will be, now and ever.

I could not know, how could I guess, what choices each had made,
Of how they came to soldiering, what part each one had played?
But here they are and here they'll stay,
Each one silent and in place,
Their headstones line up row on row
They guard this hallowed place.
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Creswick North Primary School

​My Thoughts on Remembrance Day
By Cody Lynch, © 2007

On the eleventh day of the eleventh month
We pause at the eleventh hour
Some of us stop to pray
For soldiers who died or went missing along the way.

Lest we forget the wars that were fought
To give us freedom
So many were shot.

I will always remember
My great Grandpa who died
Rest in peace dear Grandpa
You are always on my mind.

I would love to join the military someday
To give back to my country
And to make my world a better place.

Rest in peace all you soldiers
Who gave up your lives
For people like me
It's a shame that you died. 
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St Augustine's Primary School
 
In Flanders fields.
John McCrae (1872–1918) 

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place: and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

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​Would all who wish to lay a wreath please come forward
 
Hepburn Shire                                             
Creswick-Smeaton RSL                           
Catherine King                                    
Louise Staley                                       
Australian Red Cross                               
Legacy Club                                              
Creswick Senior Citizens                      
Creswick Historical Society                              
Creswick Neighbourhood Centre
Creswick IGA
Creswick CFA
Creswick Band
Creswick Lions                                                                    
Creswick Primary School                                   
North Creswick Primary School
St Augustine's Primary School​
The Ode
                                                                                                           
Last Post                                                                                                    
 
Minute Silence
 
Rouse
 
Advance Australia Fair

That concludes our service for today.

Poppy Display

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Each year the Council gardeners plant poppy seed for poppies for Remembrance Day. Unfortunately due to the weather conditions, this years poppies have not geminated.

The RSL put out a request to the community asking if any one has any handmade poppies they wish to donate or would like to make poppies for displaying in the Field of Crosses Memorial Gardens and were able to be dropped off at the Creswick Hub in the box provided.

The Creswick-Smeaton RSL appreciated the assistance that members of community made with the making of nearly 400 poppies for this years display.
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Ode of Remembrance

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them