a seat TAKE

Gunfire Breakfast

The Services

DAWN SERVICE: The Dawn Service march will leave the RSL Club at about 0515 hours and the service will start when the march has entered Freedom Park at about 0530 hours

MAIN SERVICE: The Main March will step-off from the RSL carpark at about 1000 (10am) hours and move to Freedom Park. The service will commence at 1030 hours. There will be a RAAF flyover at a time yet to be decided.

For the past three years the Hervey Bay RSL Sub-Branch have been campaigning to get an amphitheatre-style seating in Freedom Park.

That wish has now become reality with works currently underway on a three-tier sandstone-lined terrace that will improve the comfort of veterans and others attending memorial services.

The Hervey Bay RSL Sub-branch gained an $88,000 grant from the Gambling Community Benefits Fund to help fund the project which is being undertaken by Council's Open Space and Environment team. Sub-Branch President Brian Tidyman said the three terraces will be dug into the natural slope on the western side of the park.

He said the terrace seating will provide an element of both comfort and safety.

“At present people attending events at the park, especially our mature veterans, find it difficult to stand or use chairs because of the slope,” he said.

“It was also dangerous and slippery to walk on with morning dew at memorials like the Dawn Service.”

Each terrace will have room for guests to use their own seating or sit directly on the sandstone. Stairs, with support handrails, will be installed through the centre of the terracing to facilitate access. The project is expected to be completed and the site re-established before ANZAC Day commemorations.