CHENNAI: A 100 years ago, on April 25, 16,000 soldiers from Australia and New Zealand, plus an artillery unit from the British Indian Army, landed at Gallipoli, Turkey. Pulling ashore at a place now called the ANZAC Cove, the troops executed the first successful campaign that led to the defeat of the Ottoman Empire.
The spark of dawn on Saturday, April 25, 2015, saw the Australian Consulate-General commemorating the hundredth anniversary of the landing, a day that has come to be known as ANZAC (Australian and New Zealand Armed Corps) Day, and the lives of the servicemen and women who laid down their lives for their country. A dawn service was held at the Madras War Cemetery near St Thomas Mount. Incidentally, the War Memorial at the Cemetery contains the names of 14 Australians and five New Zealanders who lost their lives during World War I.
The commemorations in Chennai were attended by the Australian Consul-General, the Consuls-General and representatives of a number of other countries and The Indian Armed Forces, represented by the fourth Madras Regiment. Wreaths were laid at the white Stone cross of sacrifice at the Madras War Cemetery, and Rev Kruba Elizabeth of St Mary’s, Fort St George, read a prayer from the Bible.
The dawn commemoration was also attended by a large gathering of Australians and New Zealanders currently residing in Chennai and other parts of South India.
The end of the dawn service saw guests digging into the Digger’s Gunfire Breakfast, a tradition spanning almost as long as ANZAC Day, hosted by the Australian Consul-General, at the Park Hyatt Hotel. A private screening of The Water Diviner — Russel Crowe’s latest film about the tale of an Australian farmer who travels to Gallipoli, Turkey, looking for his three sons who are reported missing in the battle, was also held.