ABSTRACT
On the morning of every 15 February, to mark the anniversary of the surrender of Singapore to the Japanese in 1942, Australian veterans and their families gather around the Cenotaph at Martin Place in the centre of Sydney. An army band marches playing the stirring strains of ‘Waltzing Matilda’. A dwindling band of veterans from the battalions turn up with their banners and wreaths. The guest of honour is always the Governor of New South Wales, and members of the armed services are represented by senior serving officers. This ceremony has been occurring since 1946, soon after the veterans returned to Australia. At the ceremony in 2006, Rowley Richards, a former President of the veterans’ association of the 8th Division, said of the event ‘It’s a responsibility we owe our mates that are not here and who did not come back’. He added that, for many of the veterans, the date was of equal importance to Anzac Day, while for some it was of greater significance to them. Richards was quick to add ‘but it doesn’t denigrate in any way Anzac Day. I mean they’re two that complement one another’ (ABC Online, cited in Jung 2010).
