Over 100 people attended this year’s Anzac Day Reflection held in Richardson’s Lookout – Marrickville Peace Park. This was the seventh time that the event has been held in the Peace Park since 2016.

Organised by the Marrickville Peace Group (MPG) and facilitated by Antoinette Riley, the program included:

• Acknowledgement of Country
• Peace songs performed by two choirs
• Speakers
• Tributes to two former community activists
• Laying of bouquet at Peace Tree
• More speakers
• Poetry reading
• Two minutes silence and reflection
• Raffle and refreshments.

Among those who attended were current and former councillors from the Inner West Council and City of Sydney plus representatives from World Beyond War and the Sydney Knitting Nannas.

Acknowledgement of Country

Proceedings got underway with Uncle Robert Young, an Aboriginal Gamilaroi man, providing an Acknowledgement of Country. He paid his respects to Gadigal and Wangal descendants, as well as their elders that had protected and preserved the landscape on which the reflection was taking place.

Choirs

After the Acknowledgement of Country, two local choirs combined to perform a number of peace songs.

Singers from Songs From Next Door Choir and Singing For All Choir, led by Linda Marr, initially sang ‘Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow’ by Christina Mimmocchi. This was followed by three songs: ‘About the River’ (a Ukrainian folk song), ‘Dona nobis pacem’ (Ecclesiastical Latin for ‘Give Us Peace’) and ‘Song of Peace’ by Finnish composer Jean Sibelius.

It was noted that the choirs were part of the active seniors program sponsored by the Inner West Council.

Speakers

Prior to the event and in the context of the Federal election campaign, requests were received from many people seeking an opportunity to speak. However, due to the focus on Anzac Day along with time constraints, only a limited number of these requests could be accommodated.

Initial speakers included Nick Deane and Peter Griffin from MPG and Bernie Hobbs from the Sydney Knitting Nannas.

In his speech, Nick Deane spoke about the official narrative of Anzac Day which asserts that the nation’s character was formed during the ill-fated Gallipoli campaign, together with  stories of valour under fire, and of mateship, sacrifice and suffering – all necessary, we are told, for the defence of Australia.

“Questioning all that’, Nick said, “explains why we, who think differently, gather to offer an alternative narrative.”

It was stated that the national focus on military prowess and military service was misplaced and misdirected. Anzac Day, Nick argued, “orients the nation towards war. It raises war’s profile and tells us that we should always and forever be prepared to go to war. It normalises war.”

However, “war has proved itself to be a failure – of no practical benefit to mankind.” Rather, it was argued that “it is time to turn our faces away from war and bring into focus the enormous benefits of living in peace. We need to imagine a world beyond war and make peace the normal or ‘default’ situation.”

The next speaker was Peter Griffin who spoke about the Frontier Wars and research that has highlighted the deadly toll that resulted from these colonial conflicts. In particular, Peter mentioned the impressive work undertaken by Professor Lyndall Ryan and her team at Newcastle University who have created an interactive map of colonial massacres.

Next up was Bernie Hobbs from the Sydney Knitting Nannas who campaign to ensure our land, air and water are preserved for our children and grandchildren. She noted that “there is already too much hatred, greed and war talk in the world, so whatever we do, we do from a peaceful, joyful and cheeky perspective since that is what we think the world needs more of.” Bernie thanked the MPG for organising Anzac Day Reflections each year that enable people’s wishes and concerns about the future to be expressed.

Tributes

Two tributes were made during the event.

Jennifer Newman

The first tribute was for Jennifer Newman who passed away in September 2024. Jennifer was a proud Wiradjuri woman, educator and skillful storyteller who felt a deep connection to country and the local environment. She was committed to improving relations between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people by building understanding and recognition.

As Vice-President of the Cooks River Valley Association and as an active member of the Mudcrabs, Jennifer contributed to rehabilitating the Cooks River and its foreshore. She was also an active member of the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal and served as a board member with numerous community organisations.

Jennifer willingly provided Acknowledgements of Country at successive Anzac Day Reflections since 2016 which were always appreciated and well received. She will be deeply missed by her people and our local community. Vale Jennifer Newman.

John Butcher

The second tribute was for John Butcher who passed away on 26th January this year. As a local resident, John also had a deep commitment to the Cooks River Valley Association and the Mudcrabs. As well, he served as President of the Gallipoli Centenary Peace Campaign (GCPC) which was formed in early 2014 to provide an alternative perspective on the national Anzac centenary commemoration which ran from 2015 to 2018.

In addition, John played a key role in having Richardson’s Lookout officially designated a Peace Park, together with organising successive Anzac Day Reflections in the park from 2016 through GCPC and MPG. He was also at the forefront of promoting local Sorry Day and Reconciliation walks along the Cooks River which have been held in May each year.

John was a long term champion of social justice and a respected and effective peace and environmental activist. His legacy will forever be an inspiration to all who had the privilege of knowing him. Vale John Butcher.

Peace Tree

The gathering then moved to the lower portion of the park where Clr Olivia Barlow (Greens) laid a bouquet of flowers at the base of the Peace Tree. The bouquet was provided by the Inner West Council.

Clr Barlow then gave a speech in which she said: “Today let us make a commitment not just to remind present and future generations of the sacrifices that the Anzacs endured during World War l, but to honour them by working to end war and to seek a comprehensive and lasting international peace.”

After this, a speech was made by Liz Remmerswaal, Vice-President of World Beyond War and Co-ordinator of the Pacific Peace Network from Aotearoa-New Zealand.

Following this speech, three verses from a poem by Australian poet and World War II serviceman, Michael Thwaites, entitled ‘The Anzac Graves on Gallipoli’, was recited by Malcolm Fraser from MPG.

A period of two minutes silence and reflection was then observed.

The event concluded with the drawing of raffle tickets for three book prizes, followed by refreshments.

Links to presentations

Nick Deane – Anzac Day narrative
Peter Griffin – Frontier Wars
Bernie Hobbs – Sydney Knitting Nannas
Clr Olivia Barlow – Honour the Anzacs by ending war
Liz Remmerswaal – World Beyond War – Aotearoa-New Zealand
Malcolm Fraser – ‘The Anzac Graves on Gallipoli’.

Notes

An audio recording of the event in two parts can be accessed here: Part 1 and Part 2. (These can each take a minute or so to load).

A copy of Nick Deane’s speech can be found here.

The three books raffled included Tim Winton’s Juice, Sam Roggeveen’s The Echidna Strategy and Australia’s pursuit of peace and power and Clinton Fernandes’ Subimperial Power: Australia in the International Arena.

For more information on Australia’s role in World War I, refer to Douglas Newton’s presentation on his book Private Ryan and the Lost Peace: A Defiant Soldier and the Struggle Against the Great War to the Blue Mountains Historical Society. (Duration of presentation: 80 minutes).