Griffith RSL sub-branch are looking forward to an Anzac Day commemoration unlike any other in the town's history.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
It comes after a four-year streak of centenaries commemorating those who fought and died in World War I between 1914 and 1918.
Only in 1919 did Australia enjoy its first full year of peace after four years of bloodshed, and a hundred years later in 2019 the people of Griffith will get together to celebrate that milestone.
Thursday's Anzac service will also be the first service featuring the new updated cenotaph plaque, which now bears the names of 122 people including those who died during WWI.
It will be a special moment for Griffith RSL sub-branch commemorations coordinator Terry Walsh, who has long been fighting to include the names of WWI veterans on the Memorial Park cenotaph.
"I wanted to acknowledge these guys who made the supreme sacrifice for our country," Mr Walsh said.
"A lot of them were the very earliest settlers here that started in the new irrigation area, back when the channels were still being dug," Mr Walsh said.
Their stories were dug up by a team of volunteer researchers, who scoured the archives to make sure their memories and sacrifices were not forgotten.
The centenaries were a chance to shine a light on those stories that would otherwise go unheard.
READ MORE
The string of WWI centenaries appears to have reinvigorated public interest in Anzac Day, and over the last four years Mr Walsh has seen the Anzac Day crowds grow noticeably bigger.
Mr Walsh is hoping to continue that momentum into 2019, and the Griffith RSL sub-branch will be pulling out all the stops to make sure this Anzac Day doesn't disappoint.
For the first time they'll have the St Mary's Pipe Band come all the way down from Sydney, thanks to funding from the Griffith Ex-servicemen's Club.
"We're extremely happy to have the band here and we're hoping the band will drag even more people out," Mr Walsh said.
"We're hoping to have the pipe band come down every year for Anzac Day."
Things will kick off with a 5.30am Dawn Service at the Memorial Park cenotaph, where they will be selling tickets for the Griffith Exies Breakfast to those who attended the service.
After the breakfast people will be invited to gather outside the Memorial Hall at 10.15am and march in a procession to the nearby Memorial Park alongside Griffith City Band and St Mary's Pipe Band.
Once everybody assembles at Memorial park things will really kick off once the main service starts at 11am.
***
While you're with us, did you know that you can now receive updates straight to your inbox every Monday at 6am from The Area News? To make sure you're up to date with all the Griffith and MIA news you can sign up here.