It is not quite the poppy installation at the Australian War Memorial but it is sure to make residents stop and remember.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
More than 400 handmade poppy flowers have been “planted” in the lawn at Wollongong’s IRT Links Seaside village ahead of Remembrance Day.
To mark the centenary of the Armistice, 62,000 poppies have been placed in gardens at the Canberra memorial to symoblise the number of Australian lives lost in World War I.
Links Seaside poppy coordinators Gail Inglis and Liz Peden were inspired by the Canberra display and asked residents to create 100 hand-knitted poppies in one month.
“Twenty-five residents took part,” Ms Inglis said. “The poppies were crocheted, knitted, made from felt or other types of fabric.
“The idea started when a couple of us had the idea over coffee.
“Most people in my generation have been touched by war. Some of the poppies have tags with soldiers’s names and regiments attached to them.
“My uncle died in the Great War so he was my inspiration for knitting the poppies.”
Ms Peden said she hoped residents stopped, reflected and remembered the sacrifice of Australian soldiers when they saw the poppies in the garden.
“We want to honour those who gave their lives,” she said.
Ms Inglis said the display would allow those residents who could not make it to Remembrance Day commemorations to reflect on the centenary of the Armistice.