First Australian leg of the Legacy Centenary Torch Relay to take place in Albany

Albany will play a key role in the Legacy Centenary Torch Relay in early May as the organisation marks 100 years of supporting the families of Australian veterans.

The home of the Anzacs has fittingly been selected as the starting point of the torch’s journey on Australia soil.

The relay — which will kick off in Pozieres, France on April 23 — will see more than 1500 torch bearers carry the flame over 55,000km while making 100 stops before arriving at its final destination of Melbourne in October.

The Albany leg of the relay will take place on May 3, following the second leg of the relay in Belgium and a third leg in London.

Former minister for defence and WA Governor Kim Beazley will be the first of 23 torch bearers charged with carrying the flame from Ellen Cove to the National Anzac Centre at the top of Mt Adelaide.

Following the Albany leg, Legacy WA will host a reception at the Albany RSL in the afternoon.

The torch bearers for the relay, including the Albany leg, have been selected based on their connections to Legacy and Australia’s defence forces.

There will be two further WA legs of the relay after the torch leaves Albany: in Fremantle on May 5 and through the streets of Perth, culminating in a community fun day on May 6. From there the relay will travel to Adelaide and Darwin before a further 40 legs through Queensland, NSW, the ACT, Tasmania and Victoria.

Relay executive producer and director Liliana Sanelli said it had been a privilege to “embark on this journey and lead the creation and production” of the relay.

“By involving the community, together we pay respect to our Legacy families and keep the Legacy torch and undying flame alive for our veterans’ families and raise over $10 million,” she said.

The first Legacy club was established in Melbourne by Lt-Gen. Sir Stanley Savige in 1923.

It was originally returned servicemen who took on the duty of caring and supporting widows and children, those volunteers later became know as Legatees.

In 2023 there are now more than 3400 Legatees supporting 40,000 individuals and families throughout Australia.