Australians paused at 11am on Wednesday, November 11, to honour the more than 103,000 Australians who have lost their lives while serving the nation in wars, conflicts and peace operations, as Remembrance Day was observed across the country. The minute’s silence at 11am marks the moment the guns fell silent on the Western Front, ending the First World War on November 11, 1918.
“On Remembrance Day, Australians will pause to honour the more than 103,000 Australians who have lost their lives while serving our nation in wars, conflicts and peace operations, and recognise the enduring impact of service on veterans and families of veterans,” the Department of Veterans’ Affairs said in a statement for the day. “More than a century since the guns fell silent on the Western Front, marking the end of the First World War, Remembrance Day remains as important today as it was for the Australians who commemorated the anniversary of the Armistice on 11 November 1918.”
Services across the country
Remembrance Day services were held in state capitals and towns across Australia, with the national service at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra. In Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and Hobart, services took place at war memorials and shrines, with wreath laying, the Last Post and the Ode of Remembrance. Schools, workplaces and public institutions observed the minute’s silence at 11am local time.
Australia observes one minute of silence, rather than the two minutes observed in the UK and Canada, although many services include both the Last Post and Reveille. The day is not a public holiday in Australia, so most workplaces stay open, but the pause at 11am is widely observed. The poppy remains the symbol of the day, worn to remember those who died in service.
A day shared across the Commonwealth
Remembrance Day is observed on the same day across the Commonwealth, with ceremonies in Canada, the UK, Australia and New Zealand all timed to 11am local time. In Ottawa, the National Remembrance Day Ceremony takes place at the National War Memorial, while in London the Cenotaph service was held on Remembrance Sunday, November 8, with a further two-minute silence at 11am today for Armistice Day.
The Australian observance comes as the country also marks the centenary of the Royal Canadian Legion and the continuing work of veterans’ organisations across the Commonwealth. For Australian families, the day is a chance to recognise not only those who died, but the enduring impact of service on veterans and their families, as the Department of Veterans’ Affairs put it in its statement for the day.
