Anzac Day in Raymond Terrace will look different next year with the town's commemorative precinct set to undergo a major transformation.
Raymond Terrace RSL Sub-Branch president Vic Jones unveiled plans to relocate and upgrade the memorial in Anzac Park on Monday, a project that is due to be completed within the next 12 months.
Mr Jones informed the 1500 to 2000 people gathered for the mid morning Anzac Day service that $90,000 in federal funding had been granted to Port Stephens Council to install a new granite commemorative wall along Raymond Terrace Bowling Club's fence and shift the memorial space further into Anzac Park.
"This will open the view of the memorial and improve facilities so people don't have to stand in on the roundabout or in the shopping centre carpark on Anzac and Remembrance Days," Mr Jones said.
"Come nest Anzac Day, this park will be transformed and will serve the community for decades to come."
The funding will also see the National Servicemen's memorial and flagpoles relocated, and a new garden installed.
Not simply a project to improve safety on commemorative days, Mr Jones said the upgrades would turn the park into a space for the community to enjoy year round.
The announcement came at the conclusion of a well attended Anzac Day service.
Residents and visitors to the town lined the main street to wave and cheer as servicemen and women, school children and members of community clubs and organisations marched for the first time in two years.
The march was accompanied by six members of the Irrawang High School drum corps, two military vehicles, Raymond Terrace Fire Station's truck and police cars.
School leaders from seven schools in Raymond Terrace and surrounds played a major part in the service, providing the readings and recitals in the programs.
Mr Jones provided the address on the theme of Anzac and highlighted a number of military and war milestones being marked in 2022 including the 80th anniversary of WWII battles to the north of Australia (Milne Bay, Kokoda, Buna-Gona) as well as the attacks on Darwin and Sydney Harbour and the first anniversary of the withdrawal from Afghanistan and the end of Australia's large-scale military commitment to the Middle East.
As is tradition during the Raymond Terrace service, the history of a person listed on the town's memorial is highlighted.
This year the service of Lieutenant Aileen Mary Hughes from Miller's Forrest. Hughes undertook nurse training in 1934. She joined the Australian Army Nursing Service as part of the Civilian Military Services in May 1942 and was based in Concord.
She served in Port Moresby and New Guinea between December 1943 and May 1945, when she returned to Australia.
Hughes worked in the migrant camp at Great for about six years. The Maitland 1955 flood devastated the family farm in Miller's Forrest and she returned to care for her ailing mother.
"Her was a life of selfless service to her family, her country and her community, moulded and enriched by her service during WWII," Hughes's niece, Victoria Lilley, said during an address on Monday about the war nurse.
Hughes died in 1999, aged 85.
The service history of Sister Teresa Marian Cunningham was also displayed on the Raymond Terrace war memorial, on the steps under where her name is listed.
Another tradition of the service is for school children to bring a current or former serviceman or woman from the community with them on Anzac Day to lay a wreath together.
"This gives those attending the service the chance to acknowledge and show their appreciation to veterans and service personnel who live among us on a daily basis but who we may not otherwise recognise," Mr Jones said.
A F-35A Lightning II jet from RAAF Base Williamtown flew over the service twice.
Music was provided by the Salvation Army Hope Choir while the bugler was Bruce Lyon and the piper Graham Adams.
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