The Yass RSL Sub-Branch of the Returned and Services League of Australia (RSL) is honoured to invite the community to participate in the ANZAC Day Commemorative Services scheduled for Friday, 25 April.
The day will commence with the traditional Dawn Service at the Cenotaph, located at the Yass Soldiers Memorial Hall, starting at 6:00 am. This solemn service will pay tribute to the bravery and sacrifices of our veterans and those who served in conflicts past and present.
The Dawn Service will be followed by a Gunfire Breakfast at the Yass Soldiers Club. Following the Dawn Service, a Parade will assemble at the intersection of Comur and Lead Streets, stepping off promptly at 10:45 am. Community members are encouraged to join in this display of respect and remembrance, with local schools, community groups, and veterans coming together to honour our heroes.
The main Commemorative Service, featuring a wreath-laying ceremony, will take place at the Cenotaph at the Yass Soldiers Memorial Hall beginning at 11:00 am. We are proud to announce that our guest speaker for the event will be Yass local Cayla Pothan.
As the Creative Director of Tootsie Gallery Café, a mosaic artist, and former Deputy Mayor of the Yass Valley Council, Cayla brings a unique and deeply personal perspective to our commemorations.
As the granddaughter of a World War Two veteran and daughter of a Vietnam War veteran, Cayla has grown up with a rich tapes-try of experiences shaped by the after effects of war on individuals and their families. She now uses her journey to inspire others to reach out, seek support, and find healing from the past. Her heartfelt insights will surely resonate with all attendees as we gather to remember and reflect.
To foster community spirit, all attendees are invited to remain after the service for a BBQ lunch in Banjo Paterson Park, where veterans, their families, and the Yass community can come together in camaraderie and remembrance. We invite everyone to join us as we honour the ANZAC spirit and commemorate those who have served our country.
Ginger Carr, Secretary of the Yass RSL Sub-Branch said, “The Yass Soldiers Club will be putting on the gunfire breakfast. It’s a free breakfast.We just ask for donations at the door as people are entering. All the money that’s raised goes to the RSL Sub-Branch, which is then used for veterans and their family members.
“The gunfire breakfast is a hot food breakfast. It’s bacon and eggs and toast and everything like that.
“It’s a tradition that’s always shared across the whole country and the custom stems from a drink called gunfire, which is a mix of rum and black tea dating back to at least the 1890s, and it was made by British army soldiers, likely as a warming dash of morale or liquid courage ahead of the day’s battle, and it was later adopted by Australian and New Zealand forces.
“We start from the previous Anzac Day. As soon as Anzac Day is finished one year, we start planning for the following one because it’s a huge combination of the Yass Valley Council, the Police and the Soldiers Club which are our big players. We have the cadets from RMC in Canberra so the army cadet officer cadets come out to us.
“We have meetings with them and since December, we’ve been nonstop on the go.
“Everyone is welcome to march, so whether they’re part of a community group, if they want to, they’re a veteran, or if they want to march for a family member, we just ask that if people are wearing medals of a family member, they wear them on their right side because they’re only worn on the left side for veterans.
“Everyone is welcome to join in the march, come to the services, come to the gunfire breakfast and the community barbecue afterwards. That’s all free as well.
“We actually just started it last year and it came about because of the Yass Soldiers Club renovations, so we couldn’t do our normal formal lunch. We thought it was a great opportunity for people with children and people that might just be passing through to just be able to enjoy some time together in the park and it was so successful last year that we’ve decided that we’re going to keep doing it every year now.”
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