Join Last Post broadcast for driveway salute

Centenary suburbs residents are decorating driveways and learning music to make Anzac Day at home one to remember

Sophie Kukulies and Neve Longmire preparing for their Anzac Day morning driveway salutes. Picture: Richard Walker

At 20, Sophie Kukulies is an experienced hand at Anzac Day performances, sometimes playing in front of thousands of people — but this year she will be alone in her driveway.

At 6am on Anzac Day (Saturday), Sophie’s Bflat trumpet will be the one heard on a Facebook live broadcast for residents in the Centenary suburbs who are taking up the RSL’s recommended driveway salute to the Anzacs.

Sophie, a third year student at the Conservatorium of Music and former Jindalee State School student, said of all her performances, playing the Last Post for Anzac Day was the most rewarding and the one that made her feel the most nervous.

“I have performed for much bigger audiences, but it is the most meaningful, and it is thing that makes me the most proud,” she said.

“To be that person, who gets to make that powerful moment is the most rewarding thing I could do.”

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A team of community-minded organisers linked through the 4074 Community & Beyond Facebook page have also organised live musicians to be positioned in driveways within Middle Park, Jindalee, Mt Ommaney and Westlake.

At 6am, as residents stand in their driveways, the Facebook broadcast will begin with Sophie taking the lead sounding the Last Post, followed by a minute’s silence and then Reveille.

One of the organisers said they hoped residents would hear live music echoing through their streets at the same time as Sophie’s broadcast, in a spine-tingling tribute despite COVID-19 restrictions on large gatherings.

School music teacher Fiona Harvey has been helping members of the

Centenary State High School symphonic band and Middle Park State School band prepare for the morning.

“They are excited about this performance and many of them have learnt the Last Post for this driveway performance and kept practising it over the school holidays,” she said.

A spokeswoman for 4074 Community and Beyond Lisa Baillie said they were asking neighbours to join in from their own driveways and not mob the young performers or the break the social distancing guidelines.

Some residents are decorating their fencelines and driveways to mark Anzac Day as a stay-at-home tribute.