At 11am on Wednesday, 11 November, the North Coast will stop. From Byron Bay to Macksville, locals will gather at cenotaphs and memorial parks to honour the men and women who served, and remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
Remembrance Day marks the anniversary of the signing of the Armistice that ended fighting on the Western Front in World War I.
Every year since 1919, many nations have paused on 11 November to remember their fallen.
At the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, Australians will join people in many other countries for a minute’s silence. It honours those who lost their lives in wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations.
This year’s theme is Remember To Remember. It’s a simple message with a powerful point: the stories, service, and sacrifice of past generations should never be forgotten.
Observe the silence. Wear a poppy. Attend a service. Every one of them helps keep the legacy of our service people alive. More on the theme is at rslnsw.org.au.
From the big centres to the smallest towns, local services give everyone the chance to come together and pay their respects.
Where to pay your respects
- Ballina: 10.45am, RSL Memorial Park, Grant St
- Byron Bay: 10.45am, Cenotaph, Tennyson St
- Casino: 10.50am, Casino Drill Hall War Memorial, 84a Centre St
- Coffs Harbour: 10.30am, Coffs Harbour Cenotaph. The wet weather venue is the C.ex Coffs auditorium
- Lismore: 10.45am, Lismore Memorial Baths, Molesworth St
- Macksville: 10.45am, War Memorial, 9 River St
- Nambucca Heads: 10.45am, 3 Nelson St
- Sawtell: 11am, Lyle Rose Memorial Park, Fourth Ave
- Urunga: 10.50am, Urunga Cenotaph, corner of Bonville and Bowra streets
Poppies and free travel
Want a poppy? RSL NSW sub-branches will be selling them in local communities. Contact your local sub-branch to find out more.
Current and former Defence Force members and their carers can travel free on most NSW public transport services. So can spouses, children, and grandchildren of deceased and living members of the Australian Defence Force. Details are on the Transport for NSW website.
Words that still stir
If you’ve been to an ANZAC Day or Remembrance Day service, you’ll know The Ode.
The stirring lines come from Laurence Binyon’s poem For the Fallen. He wrote it less than two months after World War I broke out, as the British Expeditionary Force suffered heavy losses on the Western Front.
At a time when news reports and other poems struck a very different tone, its words stood out.
The Ode has been read at services across Australia since 1921, carrying the nation’s respect and grief for those who gave their lives in World War I and every conflict since.
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them.
Something going on in your part of the North Coast people should know about? Let us know by emailing newsdesk@nctimes.com.au