Thousands gather in pre-dawn light at Shepparton

By Monique Preston

Apr 25, 2023

Reflecting: Vietnam veteran Stan Whitford at the Shepparton Anzac Day dawn service. Photo by Megan Fisher

War veterans, older people using wheelie walkers, representatives of plenty of sporting groups, and young children all gathered in the darkness for the Anzac Day dawn service at Shepparton.

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As the sun slowly rose, the full size of the crowd could be seen, with not only the area at the cenotaph full, but attendees also spilling on to Welsford St and across the road to Monash Park.

Somber: The crowd at the Shepparton Anzac Day service. Photo by Megan Fisher

The crowd of about 2500 was quiet and respectful, with the only noise during the minute’s silence the sounds of cockatoos and kookaburras in the surrounding trees waking up for the day.

Local football and netball clubs could be seen en masse in their team colours, while cyclists gathered with their bikes before the start of their morning ride to pay their respects.

Lighting the way: A candle glows at the Shepparton dawn service. Photo by Megan Fisher

Shepparton RSL sub-branch president Bob Wilkie was pleased with the numbers at this year’s dawn service.

“It’s the biggest one since COVID hit,” he said.

“We were ecstatic with the crowd.”

Pause to remember: Lachie Coomber, 12, with a slouch hat he made for this year’s Anzac Day. Photo by Megan Fisher

Among those gathered was 12-year-old Lachie Coomber, who was clutching a slouch hat he made himself.

The Kialla youngster said he had the rest of the World War I Australian Army uniform, but had not been able to afford to buy a slouch hat — so decided he would just make one.

Around his neck he was wearing a whistle, owned by his great-great-grandfather, who was a stretcher bearer in World War I.

While carrying only the slouch hat for the Shepparton dawn service, the enterprising youngster planned to wear the whole uniform in Tatura’s Anzac Day parade later in the day.

Family: Matilda Poppy Parker, 3, with her father Kris’s medals. Photo by Megan Fisher

Another youngster to stand out was three-year-old Matilda Poppy Parker, who was wearing her dad Kris Parker’s war medals.

Mr Parker served in the Australian Defence Force in East Timor.

Matilda’s name is a nod to the Australian Defence Force, and in particular, Remembrance Day.

Her middle name, Poppy, is after the poppies that grew on Flanders Fields in Belgium during World War I; however, the combination of her first and second names, ‘Matilda Poppy’, is a nod to the name of Australia’s version of the poppy.

Australian Defence Force personnel were not the only ones to attend the Shepparton service.

International: Bishal Kunwar, Motiraj Boral, Rabi Bikram Rana and Buddha Gubhaju at the Shepparton Anzac Day dawn service. Photo by Megan Fisher

Shepparton resident Bishal Kunwar, a member of the town’s Nepalese community, was there with three visitors, including his brother-in-law Rabi Bikram Rana who is in the Nepal Army and works in United Nations peacekeeping.

Also with them was Motiraj Boral, who is now retired from India’s Gurkhas, where he was in the 9GR, as well as Mr Kunwar’s father-in-law, Buddha Gubhaju.

The Shepparton RSL sub-branch president paid extra homage to singer Juliana de Quilettes, who sang I was only 19 at both Shepparton’s dawn service and the commemoration later in the morning.

“That resonates with the Vietnam veterans,” Mr Wilkie said of the group, whose members are this year commemorating 50 years since the end of Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War.