The tuning note of bagpipes and tubas and the sharp rattle of a snare drum filled Crown Street Mall as hundreds of marchers gathered before the start of Wollongong's Anzac Day parade.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
At the back of the line, excited kids in Scout uniforms chatted and shuffled their feet, with parents taking pictures and adjusting neckerchiefs as they prepared to walk through the streets of the city.
At the front, current Defence Force members were already in formation, standing still and quiet under a light mist of rain as the bell from the clocktower struck 10.
First came the veterans in vintage cars - and a couple on mobility scooters - rolling down Kembla Street, and then the drums started and the march itself began.
"Daddy's going to march in a minute," one woman whispered as her kids tried to peek through umbrellas and legs to get a glimpse.
Iraq and Afghanistan veteran Nathan Mendham - who did three tours in the Middle East in 2008, 2010 and 2012 - has recently moved to the Illawarra and wasn't marching this year.
"For me, Anzac Day is not about me, it's about the older guys and everyone who fought before me," he said, as he spotted friends in the parade.
"But at some point in time, we will be that age, so it will become about my generation."
"It has to happen, they've got their own ways of doing things and we might have our ways of doing things, but we've got to meet in the middle and build it from there."
Boosting involvement from new generations has been a big focus for the Returned and Services League this year, with its NSW president Ray James saying last week that Anzac Day is in a "fight for the future".
Cordeaux Heights woman Lisa James was already building links for younger generations, as she explained each part of the march of her two young kids who were watching their father and siblings.
"We're a military family and the kids are involved in the 1st Figtree Scout group, so this is a bit of a family affair," she said.
"My husband and two kids are marching, and the kids are learning about what it means, learning the history behind things and trying to problem solve and look at what we can do differently down the track."
"It's lovely to be here, to build that sense of community back up [after COVID-19 restrictions] with out neighbours and friends and to be able to pay tribute in this small way."
Read more:
To read more stories, download the Illawarra Mercury news app in the Apple Store or Google Play.
Kate McIlwain
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
