Albany Anzac Day 2023: Dawn service draws visitors from far and wide to Home of the Anzacs

Albany’s significant place in the Anzac story drew visitors from far and wide to the city on Tuesday for the first Anzac Day proceedings without COVID-19 restrictions since 2019. A crowd of hundreds braved cold conditions and the threat of rain to mark the traditional dawn service at the Desert Mounted Corps Memorial atop Mt Clarence. Among those commemorating the occasion were Mike and Judy Keane who had driven across the Nullarbor from Maleny in Queensland, stopping in Albany to mark Anzac Day on their way to Perth. Mr Keane’s uncle served during World War I and was part of the first convoy of New Zealand soldiers who left for the war from Albany. “When I was a young boy, I used to stay with my uncle and my aunty quite a lot, so I got to know him really well and he used to tell me stories about what happened,” he said. “And also my brother and myself, we went across to Gallipoli about 15 years ago which was quite impressive.” A veteran himself, Mr Keane proudly wore a suit and medals commemorating his service in Vietnam, Borneo and Thailand, as well as a Queen’s Commendation for Brave Conduct. He also wore a badge marking his association in the ‘Caterpillar Club’, an informal association of people who have had their life saved by a parachute after having to bail out of a disabled aircraft, and a Martin-Baker tie, worn by pilots who have used the company’s ejection seat to escape from an aircraft. Mr Keane said he had to eject himself from a jet in 1974 while he was stationed in Germany with the New Zealand Royal Air Force as part of NATO forces. “I was a fighter pilot and flying phantoms, and one of the engines disintegrated, and the aircraft caught on fire,” he said. “…And unfortunately the ejection seat didn’t fire for some time, and I narrowly just got out before the aircraft hit the ground. “So I was given the Queen’s Commendation for staying with the aircraft for a certain period of time, because it was over a built up area.” Mr Keane is originally from New Zealand and served for six years in the Royal New Zealand Air Force, before being recruited by the Royal Australian Air Force, where he served a further 14 years. He said it was “fantastic” to attend the Albany dawn service as both Australian and New Zealand forces were recognised, and said he found the morning “incredibly moving” and emotional. “Any person who has been in the services and been on active service, it’s always had that impact on us,” Mr Keane said. “(It makes you think about) others around you who didn’t survive, and also the impact on families.” It was a different set of circumstances for Andy Sears, an Albany veteran who had attended services in his hometown on numerous occasions. He attended the service alongside Phil Jarratt, Archer Dario and Clarrie Sanders. Mr Sears said the four men had served alongside each other during the “lucky times” because there were “no major conflicts” after joining as 15-year-olds in 1975. “We signed up for nine years to do apprenticeships as tradesmen,” he said. “Some of the other guys did 20 years and I did my nine then moved on.” He said he wore his service medals on his chest to show he was proud of the time spent serving his country and that it was heartening to see such strong numbers attending the dawn service despite the threat of inclement weather. “We were looking at the weather and hoping it would be kind to us but compared to what the guys put up with in Gallipoli and in the trenches it’s nothing,” he said. “We said to each other if we go up there and get wet it is still a lot less than what they had to put up with.” It was also the first Albany Dawn service on Mt Clarence for State Opposition Leader Shane Love despite having grown up in Albany. He said he used to participate in the marches down York Street as a student. “Albany is such a special place in the Anzac tradition because it was the jump-off point for so many of those troops that were put ashore at Gallipoli 108 years ago,” he said. “We attended the dawn service today at Mt Clarence and it was great to see so many people there, I don’t think many more people could have made it up that mountain because there wasn’t much space left.”