Anzac Day in SA: Record turnout forecast as legend grows

THE biggest crowds ever, up to 10,000 people, are expected to flock to North Tce in the city on Saturday for the historic Anzac Centenary Dawn Service, then line the streets for the march. Anzac Day services guide

THE biggest crowds ever, up to 10,000 people, are expected to flock to North Tce in the city on Saturday for the historic Anzac Centenary Dawn Service, then line the streets for the march.

The 153 services to be staged across the state are expected to average crowds of 1000 people and thousands more at Morphetville Racecourse for Camp Gallipoli will push the number of South Australians actively commemorating the event to 200,000, the RSL expects.

RSL communications and development director Darren Adamson said public enthusiasm for the centenary would drive crowds to record numbers.

“There is considerable interest ... there are so many ways to commemorate and be involved and each person will choose what’s right for them,’’ he said.

Whether the forecast of a wintry morning will affect numbers is unclear, but rough weather expected today is tipped to ease by tomorrow, although early showers are expected. The maximum temperature tomorrow should be 17C, after a low of 10C.

Indoors, meanwhile, the RSL’s latest tool to help keep the Anzac legend alive has been so popular in SA that it has now been adopted nationally.

The new Virtual RSL website, launched by the SA RSL in August, is uncovering stories of the past 100 years of war.

In one story, it has revealed the unique family history of Vietnam veteran Mike von Berg, whose great uncle, Walther Kirchhoff, was a famous German opera singer and performed during a Christmas truce on the Western Front in 1914.

Mr von Berg has shared the story his father told him in the 1980s.

“At the time, I didn’t think it was a big deal, but later British newspapers started reporting more about the Christmas truce and then the movie Le Joyeux Noel blew it wide open," he said.

Kirchhoff wanted to enlist in 1914, however the Royal House of Hohenzollern deemed him too precious to fight.

Instead he was made a major and aide de camp to the Crown Prince Wilhelm, travelling to the front line at Christmas to deliver small trees and sing carols.

“My patrol commander in Vietnam was working on the project for the RSL and he told me about it,’’ Mr von Berg said.

“I was really impressed with the interaction and how it could preserve history. I ended up telling my story to (site founder and retired colonel) Steve Larkins and he said I absolutely had to submit it for the site.”

You can visit the site by clicking here

Originally published as Anzac Day in SA: Record turnout forecast as legend grows