ANZAC DAY MEMORIAL OF REMEMBRANCE

Over the last three years it has been important to the team at Club Taree to offer their community an additional place of reflection and remembrance in the lead up to, and for ANZAC Day.

Taree honour those who paid the ultimate sacrifice across many war memorials and dedications around the town, and onsite here at Club Taree.

In 2021, following the isolation of COVID and remembering how we all gathered in 2020 at the end of our driveways in a moment of quiet reflection, the team at Club Taree felt it important to offer members and the wider community a poignant yet incredibly visual installation.

The idea stemmed from an installation the CEO Paul Allan had seen in Boston during Memorial Day Weekend whereby a flag was installed in Boston Common for the 37,000 fallen service heroes from Massachusetts.

In its inaugural year the Club Taree ANZAC installation saw 1,422 Australian flags placed on the front lawn of the Club, adjoining the Club’s permanent war memorial. The Australian Flags were a visual representation of each of the 1,422 service men and women from Taree who had served across all wars. Aboriginal Flags represented the 17 local Biripi service men and women from Taree who have served

The 111 Taree service men and women who have paid the ultimate sacrifice were also honuored.

The installation was supported graphically by information boards, and the poem For the Fallen by Laurence Binyon.

The entire display was basked in red light at night to represent the bloodshed on the battlefield.

At 6pm each evening the ode would be recited.

In its initial year the display received such overwhelming feedback from members and the community. People young and old would visit at night to take a moment to remember and reflect.

In 2022 Club Taree was looking for a way to elevate the display to make it different and perhaps more poignant. A chance Facebook advertisement for handmade ceramic poppies cemented the display for 2022.

The original display of 1,422 flags were joined by a river of red ceramic poppies. The poppies were added for their significance in remembrance. Each poppy was uniquely individual, a representation of the individuality of each service man or woman. Each was handcrafted with love in a representation of the love of the families of each service man or woman.

The poppies were installed in the shape of a river running through the flags to remind us of the brutality and blood shed of war.

The lighting installation for 2022 altered slightly, a mix of red and blue to help represent the pride of our nation.

Club Taree was surprised to receive even greater feedback than that of the initial installation, in what had firmly been secured as a new tradition of ANZAC Day at Club Taree.

It is important to Club Taree not just to cookie cut any initiative, and in 2023 the installation took another turn. Club Taree decided not to install the flags, however mention the story of the 1422 local service men and women in the support graphics.

The hero in the 2023 installation became the poppies. The CEO Paul Allan wanted to include the Memorial Fountain in the display. As a result all 1,000 poppies were installed into the Memorial Fountain. The poppies standing tall through the water, the fountain droplets representing the tears shed by the families of those who paid the ultimate sacrifice.

2023 was the most paired back of the displays, however the addition of the water made for a truly emotional point of reflection.

Over the last three years the installations have encouraged conversations across generations about war and the realities faced by local service men and women. There is always a sense of pride, of thankfulness and of course remembrance.