They marched past the cenotaph at Katoomba this morning, around the corner and up the hill to Katoomba Public School.
For the first time since 1922, Anzac Day was not held at Katoomba RSL. The clubhouse burnt down in February last year. Last year’s service was held in a tent city set up in the ruined club’s carpark, courtesy of the insurance company.
This year, with no-one certain whether the site would be a construction zone or not (it isn’t yet, but soon will be when the rebuild starts), the decision was made to hold the ceremony at Katoomba Public School in Merriwa Street.
The alternative venue was perfect, apart from a lack of shade. Who would imagine wilting under the sun in the Mountains in late April?
Katoomba RSL Club band provided the music, and representatives from all the local schools, plus police, firies and SES swelled the dwindling numbers of veterans in the parade down Katoomba Street.
Guest speaker Captain Murray Lund of the Royal Australian Navy, recalled the tale of Lieutenant Clifford Sadlier, whose bravery and heroics 100 years ago at Villers-Bretonneux earned him the Victoria Cross.