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Kat Jackson does not play a brass instrument, and neither does her eight-year-old daughter, Neve, but they plan to sound the Last Post in their driveway this Anzac Day.
Key points:
- The Australian War Memorial's annual Anzac Day service will proceed and be broadcast live by the ABC
- Australian jazz musician James Morrison is calling on all brass musicians to play the Last Post at 6:00am in their driveways on Anzac Day
- Indigenous artist Kim Brolga Williams has been painting electricity poles in her Beaudesert street to help lift the spirits of her neighbours
In doing so they will join thousands of other Australians honouring the sacrifices of our armed service members.
Ms Jackson said her family always put a large emphasis on Anzac Day and that this year, with services being cancelled because of coronavirus lockdowns, she would miss the large extended family gathering as well as the community atmosphere.
However, she said she had spent time in isolation helping her daughter learn to play Last Post — normally a commemorative bugle call — on her violin.
Some who have seen a video of their recital on Facebook have said it brought them to tears.
"We are planning for my sister and her son, my daughter and I, my other sister and her daughter, and our mum, all appropriately socially distanced [on the driveway] and playing the Last Post together," she said.
"It's humankind coming together, which is a beautiful thing.
"There's no cultural, social or religious divide for Anzac Day. People can literally stand side by side because we're united by the same cause.
"Our local dawn service is huge and to not see that this year — I will really miss that."
Anzac Day service broadcast
With April 25 fast approaching, and as coronavirus restrictions remain tightly in place, many Australians are considering how they will mark the national day of remembrance and wondering which, if any, Anzac Day services will go ahead.
The Australian War Memorial said its annual Anzac Day service would proceed.
It will also form part of a live ABC broadcast, starting with the National Ceremony from 5:30am AEST.
The service will involve a revised ceremony with no veterans' march and no members of the public present.
"Anzac Day is a symbolic day for Australians and New Zealanders with the Australian War Memorial being the centre of Australia's national commemoration," said Anne Bennie, the memorial's assistant director of public programs.
"Due to COVID-19 the Memorial is not open to the public and we will be encouraging people to mark Anzac Day respectfully from their homes."
Ms Bennie said the details of service were being finalised, but that it would give Australians time to "safely pause in their homes, in honour of veterans and the Australian spirit".
The Department of Defence has also announced that all overseas Anzac services had also been cancelled, tweeting the announcement on Friday afternoon:
"The Australian Government has made the difficult decision to cancel all Australian-led overseas Anzac Day services for this year. Instead we encourage you to #StandAtDawn and watch the live telecast of the dawn service at the Australian War Memorial."
Driveway commemorations
All states and territories' RSL branches have cancelled public Anzac Day services.
Instead, they are asking Australians to unite in recognising all armed services personnel by standing on their driveways at 6:00am for a combined dawn service.
"As a result of restrictions to this year's formal Anzac Day commemorations, the RSL encourages people to light up the dawn and remember and pay respects from home," an RSL South Australia spokesman said.
"This can take several forms including from the end of your driveway or within your home, with a candle or the light on your phone."
RSL SA said the qualities of the Anzac spirit — courage, endurance, humour, ingenuity, and mateship — were particularly applicable for Australians amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The Anzac spirit, which is really just the Australian spirit, helps people in times of crisis," the spokesman said.
"When you're experiencing hardship or foul weather, just think about the men and women at war, and serving right now, in discomfort.
"It puts things into perspective — we'll get by. We'll get through this."
Australian jazz musician James Morrison called on brass musicians to play the Last Post at 6:00am in their driveways on Anzac Day "in the name of mateship".
In a Facebook video that has been viewed more than 450,000 times, Morrison said while coronavirus restrictions meant Australians could not gather for usual Anzac Day services, "we can still stand united in spirit".
He said the feeling will be powerful, across the country, "when people hear that song on that morning and know that we're celebrating Anzac Day as we always do — to remember our Anzacs who fought in all wars".
Morrison's posts has garnered a huge amount of support, including from the country's RSLs, with people pledging to join the campaign.
'I'll miss the comradeship'
Phil Murray will be commemorating Anzac Day this year with his wife Gail and grandchildren on his daughter's rural property in Berry Springs in the Northern Territory.
Mr Murray, who served for five years in the Citizen Military Service, usually starts his Anzac Day by marching to Martin Place in Sydney with "old mates" before leaving to watch the football.
"I normally head off to the Sydney Football Stadium for the Anzac Day clash between the Dragons and Roosters, but not this year," he said.
He said this year he would be at the driveway gate at 6:00am to stream the Last Post on YouTube, then he would watch the broadcast of the Australian War Memorial service.
"I'll will miss the comradeship [from the march] this year," he said.
"But I'll be thinking of them, my friends, and mum my dad, and Gail's dad — who all served.
"Some didn't come back, some did, but they were all affected."
Bringing the dawn service to 'our diggers'
Kim Brolga Williams, an Indigenous artist from Beaudesert, south of Brisbane, has been out of work since the coronavirus restrictions took effect.
She has been filling her time by painting the power poles in her street to help lift the spirits of her neighbours.
When Ms Williams painted one of the poles to commemorate Anzac Day it triggered an idea to support her veterans.
"Our diggers can't go anywhere for Anzac Day like we usually do," she said.
"So I thought 'wouldn't it be nice to find out where all our diggers live and paint a pole as close as I can to their houses'.
Ms Williams said her local RSL sub-branch and energy provider gave her the go-ahead to transform an extra 11 power poles with Anzac paintings before Anzac Day.
"So the diggers can walk out of their driveway, or outside the nursing home, and at least they can still get dressed up and stand at the pole for their Dawn Service and put their wreaths down," she said.
"Then play two-up on the road too!"
Ms Williams said Anzac Day was typically a very significant event for her community and she would miss sharing a drink with the diggers at her RSL.
"We celebrate that we're here because of our people — black and white — they all went to war," she said.
"But I'll miss being with the veterans and hearing their stories, which we only hear once a year.
"We sit back and we listen to their stories. But who are they going to share their stories with?"
Joining in with neighbours
Helen Holmes, from Hampton Park in Victoria, is trying to keep the Anzac spirit alive in her street by encouraging her neighbours to join in with a dawn service in their driveways.
She distributed candle packs to invite her neighbours to participate in the service.
"I saw on Facebook that people were going to their driveway at 6:00am and have a minute silence," Mrs Holmes said.
"I woke up in the middle of the night thinking how to make it better. I thought it would look amazing if everyone had candles."
Not wanting to concern her neighbours about spreading coronavirus, she included a note to say she wore gloves to distribute the packs.
"I'm healthy, but I want to be safe and make sure my neighbours feel safe," Mrs Holmes said.
Brian Minett from Butler in Western Australia said he too was trying to "whip up the neighbours" to encourage a driveway dawn service.
Mr Minett joined the navy at 15 and said he had continuously served Australia, in different roles, for 52 years.
"Service is so important to me. Corny, I know, but I'm very patriotic and love my country," he said.
"This is the first year I will miss an Anzac Day service since 1969. This is going to be so difficult.
"I can only hope those who have pledged to attend the driveway service will actually do so."
Anzac Day coverage
The ABC will cover Anzac Day proceedings occurring across the country.
From 5:30am local time you can watch the National Dawn Service on ABC TV, the ABC Australia Facebook page, and also on the ABC Australia YouTube channel.
Local Anzac services across the country, while closed to the public, will be broadcast on ABC local radio.
- Melbourne, Shrine of Remembrance: Dawn Service 6:10am-6:30am
- Adelaide, National War Memorial: Dawn Service 6:30am-7:00am
- Sydney, Anzac Memorial Hyde Park: Morning service 10:00am-10:30am
At 11:30am local time, a two-minute reflection video will be live-streamed across all ABC local radio Facebook pages and on the ABC News Facebook page.
This reflection will include The Ode and Last Post, followed by a one-minute silence to mark when the first Australian troops landed on the Gallipoli Peninsula on April 25, 1915.
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