Speers Point Anzac service

Their shadowy figures lined both sides of Main Road, Speers Point by the time the solemn Anzac march stepped off at 5.30am to make its way toward the lakeside cenotaph.

“Wow, I didn’t think they’d get so many people here, not after last year,” 22-year-old Rachel Burgess from Valentine said.

“It’s incredible but great that so many people want to keep the spirit of Anzac alive.” 

At the cenotaph, an initial crowd of about 300 seemed to multiply by tenfold by the time the service got underway at the same time the sun broke through the cluster of Norfolk Island pines. 

A crisp autumn wind enveloped crowd which stood in reverence as several speakers spoke of the sacrifice and courage of the tens of thousands of Lake Macquarie residents who have enlisted to serve in conflict zones from the Boer War to Afghanistan. 

"Most of them were young. They went to war not knowing each other, but they laid down their lives for each other without a moment’s hesitation,” Boolaroo-Speers Point sub-branch president Lyle Dalton said. 

"They were all of equal in the trenches, on the decks of boats or flying planes in the air."

 As in previous years, students from Warners Bay High and other schools led musical and spoken word Anzac tributes during the service.

While Newcastle’s Nobbys dawn service has become the focal point for Hunter Anzac Day services in recent years, Lake Macquarie residents have remained faithful to the lake’s wartime heritage.  

“My grandfather lived at Toronto when he signed up for WWII,” Stephen Bates said.  

“I know the Newcastle service is bigger but I prefer to come to Lake Macquarie because my family has a strong connection to the area.”

Services at Swansea, Belmont and Toronto all reported attendances on par with last year’s 100 years of Anzac centenary services.

Mr Dalton said he was delighted  to see families and young children at the services.