Remembrance Day: Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese among those to pay tribute at Australian War Memorial

The Australian War Memorial opened today for a historic Remembrance Day service attended by 200 people including the Prime Minister and Opposition Leader.

Despite ongoing COVID-19 restrictions in Canberra, the memorial opened its doors for its first major commemorative event of 2020 after ANZAC Day was reduced to people gathering in their drive-ways.

AWM Chairman Kerry Stokes welcomed Governor General David Hurley to the event, which commemorates the end of World War One.

As the war drew to an end, almost 62,000 Australians lay dead among the mud and destruction of the trenches in Europe, the sands of Sinai, Palestine and Syria.

More than one third of the soldiers killed or missing had no graves.

The AWM’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is one of the ways the memorial remembers those lost with no graves for family and fellow Australians to pay their respects.

The tomb reads “an unknown Australian soldier killed in the war of 1914–1918”, and “he is all of them and he is one of us”.

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The Remembrance Day Commemorative Address was delivered by one of Australia’s most celebrated soldiers Daniel Keighran, who was awarded the Victoria Cross for deliberately drawing fire away from his fellow soldiers in a tour of Afghanistan.

One of them had been shot and was being tended to by a medic.

“Australia has been tested by both seen and unseen enemies,” he said.

“We have gritted our teeth as we have fought battles overseas and here at home. Wars have one very stark thing in common, they do not discriminate by race, gender or age.”

He reflected on 2020 being a year that had challenged the nation, much like wars of the past had done.

“Like war, they have shaped or sharpened our focus onto what is important; family, friends and loved ones,” he said.

“The pain and suffering of our nation and its people have been immense. So too has been the courage and conviction of all of us who understand what it means to be Australian during this difficult time.”

Following Mr Keighran’s address, Mr Hurley, Scott Morrison and others lay wreaths.

The event was also attended by Western Australian parliamentarians including Canning MP Andrew Hastie, Burt MP Matt Keogh, Brand MP Madeleine King and Moore MP Ian Goodenough.

AWM Director Matthew Anderson — who was appointed to the position earlier this year — said even just having 200 people gathered to commemorate Remembrance Day was “a step in the right direction”.

“Obviously it’s a different Remembrance Day to the Remembrance Day we had last year,” he told the West Australian.

“But importantly this is a progression from where we were on ANZAC day when the place was closed. We’ve now got 200 people gathering.”

He said the AWM and Remembrance Day was not about “glorifying war”.

“This is a place that commemorates those who have served in war and the impact on them and on society,” he said.

“There’s nothing glorious about war. If the Australian War Memorial does it right, it’s a signpost to society, to the nation, to our Governments about the abhorrence of war.”