The 22nd Annual Waurn Ponds Memorial Reserve Service will be held on Sunday, July 2, commemorating the 104th anniversary of the Waurn Ponds Avenue of Honour.
Commencing at 10.30am, the memorial service will include a march by servicemen and servicewomen into the reserve, a brass band and choir, hymns, prayers, a minute of silence and speeches.
The Senior Naval Officer of Victoria, Commodore Greg Yorke, CSC RAN, will be this year’s guest speaker and the service will be followed by light refreshments in the Waurn Ponds Hall.
Waurn Ponds Memorial Reserve Committee of Management president Jack Harriott said the event was always well attended by the community, veterans and local politicians alike.
“For this, the 104th year, we expect about 300 people there,” Mr Harriott said.
“The RSL come out, the councillors all come out. We’ll lay out about 15, 20 wreaths on the day.
“We’ll put on a good afternoon tea for everyone, and we have a very good speaker this year in Commodore Greg Yorke. It’s a very good day.”
The reserve, located on the corner of Cochranes Road and Waurn Ponds Drive, was established in July 1919 with the planting of trees to honour Waurn Ponds and district men and women who served in World War One.
However, the memorial was almost sold by the state government in 1998, a fate only averted after the local community and the Victorian RSL protested the sale.
A new committee was subsequently formed to manage the site with Mr Harriott, who played a large part in saving the memorial, elected president – a role he has held for the better part of 23 years.
