Remembrance Day Address, Australian War Memorial

Good morning. 

And welcome to everyone here at the Australian War Memorial, and all those watching this broadcast across the country. 

Among the many honoured guests, I am so pleased to welcome the scores of school children who have joined us today. 

Thank you for being present, with your beautiful poppies of remembrance, to honour those who served down through the decades to protect our way of life and the strength of our democracy. 

This is my first Remembrance Day as Australia’s 28th Governor-General and, as the daughter of an Army officer, I am honoured to be addressing you before the Stone of Remembrance, as this ceremony returns to the Parade Ground after an absence in recent years.  

As a new chapter in the Australian War Memorial’s redevelopment dawns, this unyielding stone is restored to hallowed ground. 

It is a symbol, unaffected by change and transformation -- of the enduring tradition of respectful commemoration that is forever linked to this place, and communities across the country. 

 The Australian War Memorial is home to a vast and vital national collection. 

An accumulation of artefacts that bring to life the stories of the people and events of Australia’s wartime experience. 

Exploring this precious national collection reveals objects, manuscripts, souvenirs, artworks or recordings that speak so meaningfully of war and service. 

For Their Majesties, King Charles and Queen Camilla, who visited here only three weeks ago, the Tomb of the Unknown Australian Soldier and the Roll of Honour were places to reflect on the sacred sacrifice of the named and unnamed Australian women and men who have died in service to their country. 

So, too, was the memorial to the proud service of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, For Our Country, at which their Majesties mourned those who have died in defence of Australia, and honoured the deep connection of First Nation’s people to the land.  

For me, today, I have found meaning in a single photo held here at the War Memorial, which came to mind during my first visit to the Western Front as Governor-General just two months ago. 

Captured from above Sydney’s George Street looking down towards Martin Place, it pictures a crowd gathered to celebrate Armistice Day on 11 November 1919. 

The first Remembrance Day after the guns fell silent in 1918. 

Standing in their thousands, they are Australians, stilled and silent in a solemn moment of commemoration. 

For them, the loss of war was a present sorrow.  

Grieving the dead, offering prayers for the missing, tending to the wounded in body and spirit … 

... children left without a parent, mothers and fathers mourning their children … 

… the passage of time had not yet tempered their pain. 

Seeking solace in community, they gathered -- in Sydney and Perth, Pinnaroo and Wagga Wagga, Beechworth and Scottsdale – in cities and towns, in the bush and regional centres across the country, to commemorate and give thanks.  

And each year since, for more than a century, Australians have repeated this ritual of remembrance – just as we gather today. 

Each year, we render our tribute anew to the generations of servicemen and women who have died or suffered for Australia in conflicts far from home. 

And so it is that our Remembrance Days are born of all the days of commemoration that have gone before. 

As each of us brings something of ourselves to the work of commemoration, our ritual is layered over time with the hearts and minds of those before, remembering and giving thanks. 

These are not just acts of commemoration, but of care, kindness, and respect. 

Simeon and I witnessed that in August, when we travelled to Villers- Brettoneux Military Cemetery and the Sir John Monash Centre. 

This was a profoundly and solemnly moving experience that we shared with the many, many Australians, young and old, who travel the path of pilgrimage to France, to honour the dead and learn something of where Australians fought and died. 

It is the modern equivalent of the Armistice Day gathering in Sydney in 1919, and we were honoured to meet those Australians at Villers-Brettoneux, who travel to the Western Front to find meaning in an act of respect and love. 

In the months since my swearing in as your Governor-General, and as Commander-in-Chief of the Australian Defence Force, I have experienced times of reflection on the meaning of service, and the ways in which we commemorate.  

I have had the privilege of encountering the people and places of the ADF across Australia … 

… at Holsworthy Barracks, RAAF Base Tindal, Fleet Base East, on HMAS Adelaide … 

… with the 6^th Aviation Regiment, 2^nd Commando Regiment, the cadets at the Royal Military College, Duntroon, and the women and men who work alongside me every day … 

On land, at sea and in the sky, in theatres of war and in zones for peacekeeping, in protecting our border and working in support of the safety and progress of our nation and our region … the Australian Defence Force is a modern force. 

Upholding the greatest of Australian values, continuing the legacy of service of generations past, and demonstrating the best of our nation. 

Along with all Australians who commemorate, we should deeply acknowledge the commitment made by the women and men of today’s ADF to serve with integrity, courage and honour. 

In their dedication to duty, their pursuit of peace and their defence of Australia, they also embody the flame of remembrance. 

And today, across Australia, we now gather in solemn acts of remembrance, offering our own tribute to the fallen and the families, the veterans and all those who know what it is to serve. 

Honouring them, and all those who have gone before, we embrace their memory, and hold it in our hearts. 

Lest we forget.