Lest we forget

The spirit of ANZAC and all it stands for…courage, mateship and sacrifice, echoed across McKenzie Aged Care homes as we came together to honour this sacred day.

As the nation came together on April 25th to commemorate our fallen soldiers, gathering in driveways to “light up the dawn”, each of our McKenzie homes held dedicated services for residence to show their respect for this special day of remembrance, in lieu of traditional dawn services.

The Ashley residents joined the rest of Australia by standing proudly on the street path at dawn to remember the diggers. Seabrook residents ‘lit up their communities’ with flameless candles and placed Poppy sprigs on their doors. They held a day of reflection and laid wreaths in their own time.

The lovely volunteers at The Powerhouse Museum presented The Terraces residents with a big screen showing of their ‘War and Peace’ exhibition with a beautiful ANZAC tribute. At Charlesbrook they had a live stream from ‘ Three’s Company Trio’ band member Laurel McKenna, who dedicated her songs to the fallen.

In recognition of our soldiers, Rosebrook residents shared photos of themselves or loved ones who served, on a beautifully dressed table of remembrance.

Residents at The Ormsby contributed throughout their service, Colin played ANZAC favourites, including hymn “Onward Christian Soldiers”, on the grand piano, with Mike reciting the Prayer of Remembrance and Bruce placing the beautiful wreath, handmade by the residents, on our presentation table. Also displayed was a print of an ANZAC soldier from Sidney Nolan’s Gallipoli series and three beautiful hats, kindly contributed by the local Returned and Services League (RSL).

Veterans proudly donned service uniforms and medals, honouring our diggers, their families and each other as they reflected with staff during the minute silence and ANZAC day atmosphere. The Australian Anthem was sung with pride before the afternoon gave way to a shared drink and games of two-up.

Thank you to all the dedicated McKenzie staff and residents who helped in the preparations to make this day and its presentations special, in remembrance our fallen service men and women.