War Memorial Grove in Civic Park was lit up with dozens of candles on Saturday evening as people gathered to pay their respects at a candlelight Anzac service.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
It was the 10th anniversary of the candlelight service, which began this year with a moving Welcome to Country given by Uncle Bill Smith.
"This is a time to remember the men and women who went to war," he said. "Some came back and some didn't but we're here because of them."
We along with many in this nation have benefited from the courage and self-sacrifice of the men and the women of the Armed Forces of Australia.
- Newcastle Baptist Tabernacle Pastor Vincent Wall
The service also included a dedication of a new memorial to Gallipoli and WWI veteran 581 Private Robert Jensen, whose granddaughter Gail Heslop read a private letter written by her grandfather while he was away at war.
Private Jensen enlisted as a teenager in September 1914 and was honourably discharged in December 1918.
In that time he was shot three times, and spent time in Egypt, Greece, Turkey, France, Belgium and England.
He returned to Australia at the end of the war, settling in Georgetown where he lived until the age of 84.
Newcastle Baptist Tabernacle Pastor Vincent Wall led the dedication of the new memorial, saying along with being a founding member of the Gallipoli Legions Club Hamilton, Private Jensen was also a "proud Novocastrian".
Pastor Wall also said that today more than ever, Australia needed to recapture some of the Anzac spirit.
"A determination to be united under our flag. A determination to engender discipline in our young. A determination to stand and fight for what is right against insurmountable odds. A determination to pay the cost of true freedom whatever the cost may be," he said.
"We along with many in this nation have benefited from the courage and self-sacrifice of the men and the women of the Armed Forces of Australia.
"As we remember them we are thankful for those who fought on land, those who sailed on the seas and those who battled in the skies for the freedom of others.
'We also remember our citizens that supported the war effort at home and on foreign soils. We are thankful for the nurses and doctors, the medics and the stretcher bearers who too risked their own lives on the field of battle."
Sage Swinton
Sage Swinton is a news reporter who was born and bred in the Hunter. She has been with the Newcastle Herald since June 2020, and covers Newcastle council as well as other general news.
Sage Swinton is a news reporter who was born and bred in the Hunter. She has been with the Newcastle Herald since June 2020, and covers Newcastle council as well as other general news.
