Gold Coast Remembrance Day services: Full list of locations as veterans and students pause to remember
Gold Coast veterans and community members will pause at 11am on Tuesday to honour the fallen, 107 years after the guns fell silent on the Western Front.
More than four years of bloody warfare and slaughter came to an end at 11am on November 11, 1918.
An armistice, signed between Germany and the Allies several hours earlier, came into effect and the guns fell silent, ending the First World War.
None of the veterans who witnessed that moment, 107 years ago today, still live, but their sacrifice and service will be remembered today at commemorative services across the Gold Coast.
A moment of silence will be held at 11am to mark Remembrance Day, a solemn occasion which is now used to commemorate all those who have been affected by war.
It’s an occasion which RSL Gold Coast district treasurer Ray McCabbin says should hold equal prominence with Anzac Day.
The Vietnam veteran, now 81, will attend the Currumbin service and said it was a time to reflect on both his own service but of the tragedy of war.
“The greatest advocates for peace are soldiers because that is what all the fighting was for,” he said.
“A great many men and women paid the ultimate prices for us to enjoy the peace which we have today and every opportunity we take to remember the sacrifices that other veterans have made should be taken.
“For me, I think of Gallipoli on Remembrance Day and have my own visions of what happened there and of those very young men who fought and died there, as well as reflect on my own experiences in Vietnam.
“We were so badly treated for many years after we got back from Vietnam and I wouldn’t have anything to do with any service organisation but after (the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks) I became a lot more thoughtful about the situation and got involved.”
The city’s RSLs will hold services at cenotaphs across the Gold Coast, while schools and workplaces hold their own commemorations, including a minute’s silence, symbolic of the silence which fell over the battlefields in Europe at 11am on November 11, 1918.
It was a quiet coda to what proved to be a devastating and barbaric final morning of the war.
The armistice which ended the war was signed by Field Marshal Ferdinand Foch, the Supreme Allied Commander, at 5am that morning in his railway carriage which was parked in the Forest of Compiègne for the ceremony, held with representatives of the defeated German Empire.
Despite this, the fighting continued until 11am, causing a further 2738 men to die and around 10,944 casualties in pointless slaughter.
Both sides, unclear whether the armistice would prove short-lived, wanted to be in the best possible position if fighting was to resume, while others wanted to use up their remaining artillery shells so they were not required to take them away.
US soldier Henry Gunther is acknowledged as the last to die, being shot at 10.59am, less than a minute before the war officially ended.
While Gunther’s death marked the official end of the war on the Western Front, fighting continued between the British and Germans in remote sections of Africa until they were notified of the war’s end more than a fortnight later.
November 11 was originally known as Armistice Day, with the first commemorations held in November 1919, a year after the war’s end.
While today eclipsed by Anzac Day for most Australians, Remembrance Day remains an important day for many veterans and educators who work to impart its lessons to younger generations.
Among those for whom Remembrance Day is a special occasion is Trooper Peter McLaughlin, president of the Mudgeeraba Light Horse Museum.
Mr McLaughlin on Monday led a moving ceremony with children from Pimpama’s Gainsborough State School.
Mr McLaughlin, whose father served as a light-horseman between the two world wars, said it was important for the traditions to be passed down.
“The kids who come out here learn a lot from it and when you bring the horses down for them, they can relate to it,” he said.
“For kids, having something visual is a big thing because they can understand it when you talk about it.
“It is amazing how many kids ask me if I was in the war because I look old but what stands out for me most is wearing the uniform and it makes you appreciate what those soldiers had to endure while fighting in the heat wearing woollen uniforms.
“You just cannot comprehend it.”
Mr McLaughlin said it was important to remember not just the human cost of the conflict but also that of the animals and horses who were a key part of the war effort.
“There were a lot of horses out there which perished, not just from the battles but from the heat and from having to travel all the way from Australia and across the equator.”
Among the students who attended Monday’s ceremony was Indee Kelly, 9, who said she found the experience informative.
“We learned about the soldiers and the animals who helped during the war,” she said.
“They talked about how the horses were useful and it was really interesting.
“I felt proud when they raised the (Australian) flag.”
Her classmate Charlotte Chilcott, 9, said she found the commemorations moving.
“We made wreaths to lay and I felt very proud when we did that,” she said.
“We talked about the Australian flag and learned about how there were heaps of animals and horses in the war and we were told about guns and swords the soldiers used.
“We also threw horseshoes onto pegs in the ground which was a game the soldiers used to play.”
Mr McLaughlin will mark Remembrance Day at Nerang RSL where a ceremonial firing of artillery will be performed.
He said in the minute of silence he will think of his ancestors as well as those who have served.
“My father was a light-horseman before World War II while my great grandfather was a Hussar during the reign of Queen Victoria and it is why I joined the light horses,” he said.
“I am part of the Albert Battery and will be at Nerang RSL doing a ceremonial volley fire but for me, I think of those soldiers who did not make it to the end.
“In those moments of silence I think about the history of it all and we reflect on it.
“You are reminded of the cost of war and that we still haven’t learned from it.”
LIST OF SERVICES
COOLANGATTA
Tweed Heads and Coolangatta RSL Sub Branch
Location: Queen Elizabeth Park
Address: Marine Parade, Coolangatta
Time: 10.45am
TWEED HEADS
Tweed Heads and Coolangatta RSL Sub Branch
Location: Chris Cunningham Park
Address: Wharf Street, Tweed Heads
Time: 10.45am (NSW)
SOUTHPORT
Southport RSL Sub Branch
Location: Broadwater Parklands Cenotaph
Address: ANZAC Park, Gold Coast Highway, Southport
Time: 10.45am
RUNAWAY BAY
Runaway Bay RSL Sub Branch
Location: Runaway Bay Library
Address: Lae Drive, Runaway Bay
Time: 10.30am
BURLEIGH HEADS
Burleigh Heads RSL Sub Branch
Location: Memorial Park
Address: Corner Gold Coast Highway and Connor Street, Burleigh Heads
Time: 10.45am
NERANG
Nerang RSL Sub Branch
Location: Memorial Gardens
Address: 69 Nerang Street, Nerang
Time: 10.30am
CURRUMBIN
Currumbin/Palm Beach RSL Sub Branch
Location: Currumbin RSL Cenotaph
Address: 165 Duringan Street, Currumbin
Time: 9.45am
HELENSVALE
North Gold Coast RSL Sub Branch
Location: Club Helensvale
Address: 20 Discovery Drive, Helensvale
Time: 10.30am
MUDGEERABA
Mudgeeraba-Robina RSL Sub Branch
Location: Elsie Laver Park
Address: 12 Railway Street, Mudgeeraba
Time: 10.30am
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