Dawn Service too important for town to miss

Charleville’s usual Anzac Day service looked very different for the new COVID-19 era. But some stepped up to pay tribute on behalf of the whole community.

A Dawn Service which would normally garner hundreds of people had just two attendees this year, on a Charleville Anzac Day like no other.

While the public weren't allowed to gather at the town cenotaph to mark the day, Rob Hickson and Sean O'Connell took it upon themselves to pay homage to Australia's servicemen and women.

They raised the flags, said the ode, and played the last post as the sun rose; it was a quiet service, but Mr Hickson said it was important the town did not go without.

"Personally, it was important because of my ancestors who served, but more than that, it was for the community as well," he said.

"I was upset that (the service) was not supposed to happen, and I know there were a lot of others who felt the same, and I thought if we could do something on the quiet, it would make people feel good, knowing something was done."

Others shared their sentiment through the day; some through driveway services at home, and others laying their wreathes at the cenotaph both during the service and through the day.

Returning at sunset to lower the flags, Mr Hickson said he was glad others still made the effort.

"It was heartening to see them, because when we left that morning, there were just two wreathes from the schools," he said.

"Those people would have gone away glad that they've done what they did."

Gallery: Charleville’s Anzac Day service

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