April 25 has come and gone and I must say a good crowd turned up last Thursday demonstrating that Anzac Day is in no danger of becoming a lost tradition. It is important for us now, and for future generations, to remember the great sacrifices brave men made enabling us to live as we do today.
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The good crowds at the Dawn and main services prompts me to say, "We will not forget."
The proceedings here in Boorowa broke away in some areas from what we may have been used to, but the different songs, 'Amazing Grace' and 'Lest We Forget' plus the individual input by children from Boorowa Central School, St Joseph's and Hennessey College gave us a true feeling of the sentiment we all feel and respect.
On a broader scale across the nation, it was reported crowds at all the services were on the increase and there was a true vibe of national unity in feelings for Anzac Day and Australia doesn't want to forget.
WITS
An important sidelight to Anzac Day in Boorowa, the importance of this solemn event, was the contribution you, as a community, made to the donation boxes with around $4,000 raised. Special mention too to Lilah Roffey who made $291 from the poppies she made and sold to raise funds. The RSL is important, the War Memorial is a great reminder, and to the organizers of Anzac Day, who also keep the local RSL organization viable, from us all, thank you.
WITS
Governor Lachlan Macquarie was governor of NSW from 1810-21 and must be acknowledged as a very progressive governor.
He began a program of construction and town planning that included more than two hundred works, many designed by Francis Greenway, Macquarie introduced the colony's own currency (1813) and established its first bank (1817).
Macquarie encouraged expansion of the settlement and exploration, most notably the crossing of the Blue Mountains in 1813. His policies toward the Aborigines was the most liberal since the colony's first governor, Arthur Phillip.
Macquarie was a thinker and his vision provided opportunities for Emancipists (freed convicts).
In April 1816, Macquarie did order his soldiers to kill or capture any Aborigines encountered during a
terror campaign, with 14 killed.
Some clown vandalized commemorative statue of Macquarie at Windsor close to where Anzac Services were to be held. The vandal splashed red paint over the statue and wrote, 'Here stands a mass murderer who ordered genocide'.
Actions like this are a disgrace and it is hard to find any justification for this fellow's vandalism. In reality these statues represent our past, history can't be changed but learned from. Mistakes have been made, but in Macquarie's case, the good far outweighs the bad.
WITS
A girl's mother had just finished a First Aid Course and mother and daughter were in the mall and saw a crowd gathered around a still body. At great speed the girl's mum ran, pushing her way through the crowd yelling, "Stand back! I know CPR!" Just as she threw herself next to the body and was about to begin CPR, a strong pair of hands pulled her to her feet. "Ma'am," said a police officer, "we are trying to arrest this man!"
WITS
Don't forget mum May 14 and check out the Hospital Auxiliary Mother's Day Stall next Friday, May 12 from 8.30 at Bertie's Barber Shop. Beautiful home made goods.