Bringing the Last Post home

A partnership between the Australian War Memorial (AWM) and Returned and Services League (RSL) clubs in NSW has given birth to “individual commemoration”.

Each RSL club across the State is able to be a part of daily commemoration services, which will honour the memories of those who have served for their country.

RSL and services clubs in NSW and Victoria have been contributing funds to the AWM, which will allow them to live stream the Last Post Ceremony from Canberra everyday.

The begins in Canberra at 4:50pm and can now be viewed from the comfort of an RSL chair, or at home on a computer or anywhere across NSW, and the world.

Every day, a new story on one of the 102,000 Australians recorded on the memorial’s roll of honour is read, which allows districts to recognise and commemorate soldiers who fought from their area.

These stories are also available online, making them readily available for relatives and community members to access them at their leisure.

NSW RSL chief executive Graeme Carroll said live streaming the ceremony allowed RSL clubs to add a different connection to Anzac traditions which they could offer their members.

“From our point of view we see it as an additional connection to our communities,” he said.

Mr Carroll said live streaming the ceremony was growing with more RSL clubs featuring it when somebody from their area was being remembered.

“For rural communities in particular, a lot of the servicemen, especially in the First World War, came off the land,” he said.

“They’re able to get that connection from the ceremony and understand the contribution our servicemen made.”

AWM acting assistant director branch head of public programs Anne Bennie, Canberra, said the partnership with RSL clubs was a fantastic way of boosting the individual commemoration of servicemen and women.

Ms Bennie said live streaming

these individual stories would help communities understand their per-

sonal attachment to the national identity.

“We’ve seen an increase in interest and activity of people asking who and how it relates to me,” she said.

“There was a lot of recruitment and enlistment action around rural areas and these stories help boost community commemoration.

“It’s acknowledging the commitment of an individual through commemorating Australia as a nation and how we formed our national identity.”

By giving people access to the story of Australian servicemen, Ms Bennie said she hoped it would keep the meaning of RSL clubs and the sacrifice of soldiers relevant to the younger generations.

The funds given by RSL clubs have also meant people who are unable to attend the Last Post Ceremony in Canberra are still able to commemorate Australian servicemen and women daily.

“We’re not discriminating against who is able to view the ceremony,” Ms Bennie said.

“To know it’s readily available has been really special for us.”

To generate local interest in the ceremony, AWM tries to advise RSL clubs when a local serviceman is being featured in the ceremony.

Ms Bennie said supplying the clubs with a forward calendar could help them notify their community when stories were being aired that were of high interest to them.

“It’s about pre-warning and identifying how to get the message out,” she said.

Currently AWM is receiving funds from a group of RSLs in Victoria and NSW and are in the process of finalising a group in Queensland.

Ms Bennie said RSL clubs had always contributed a lot to their communities in the way of commemoration and this partnership would help strengthen that.

“It’s a small contribution that’s going to have a really big outcome,” she said.

THE Wagga Returned and Services League (RSL) club is one club taking advantage of the newly formed partnership between the Australian War Memorial and NSW RSLs.

Through the partnership, RSLs can now live stream the Last Post Ceremony from Canberra daily which each day will highlight the story of one of the 102,000 servicemen and women listed on the memorial’s roll of honour.

Wagga RSL general manager Andrew Bell said the club streams the ceremony when the story of a local servicemen was featured at the service.

The Wagga RSL has streamed the ceremony twice in the past three months and Mr Bell said it was something they were going to build on.

“At the moment, a lot of people aren’t aware of it, but in 12 months time it could prove to be quite popular,” he said.

“We try to broadcast it every time somebody from the Riverina is featured.

“It’s part of our heritage and part of the meaning of an RSL club.

“We’re here to support veterans in whatever way we can, so we are expecting it to grow.”

Mr Bell said to drive recognition for the ceremony, he hoped to start making contact with the people whom the ceremonies were meant to celebrate.

“We want to have better notice of who’s being talked about so we can make contact with families,” he said.

“We’re doing it to recognise the service of people in our region.”

Streaming the ceremony is considered important to Mr Bell who said it was a way of commemorating what was done by local servicemen and women.