Keeping The Anzac Spirit Alive In Newcastle

To commemorate Australia's involvement in WWI and the 100th anniversary of the Anzac landing on the Gallipoli peninsula, Newcastle is hosting over 15 Anzac events running until 26 April 2015.

2015 key events include:

Memorial Walk

Anzac Day will see the opening of a new Memorial Walk in Newcastle designed to commemorate the centenary of the Anzac landing on the Gallipoli peninsula.  A series of interpretive panels along the walk incorporate the 3860 family names of all those who enlisted from the region in the Great War. Starting at Strzelecki Lookout and towering over Memorial Drive, also named to commemorate WWI, the walkway ranks among the Hunter's modern engineering masterpieces.

With its striking 360 degree views of the city and coast, the walk provides a spectacular connection to Newcastle's Bathers Way at Bar Beach. While the original concept for the project was a one-way walk along the cliff top with visitors turning around at the viewing platform, the addition of the stairway to connect the walk to the Bathers Way is a fantastic enhancement, especially as it has enabled a 430m boardwalk providing visitors of all abilities with a range of options to enjoy the walk.

Newcastle at War Walking Tour

Newcastle at War is a new self-guided walking tour that will enable visitors to explore the city's unique war-time tales. The tour brochure features the stories of locals who have participated in conflict and directs visitors to places they inhabited in Newcastle, or that are dedicated to the memory of their service.

The Newcastle at War walking tour begins at Fort Scratchley – the only Australian coastal fortification to have returned fire on an enemy vessel during World War II, and finishes at the Newcastle War Memorial Cultural Centre at the city's library. It is one of a series of 6 new walking tours the City of Newcastle is launching this year which have been designed to showcase some of the city's unique and "hidden" areas of history and culture.

Anzac Day Dawn Service

Beginning at 5.00am at Camp Shortland at the Newcastle Foreshore, the Dawn Service will include a band, choir, bugler and bagpiper, concluding at approximately 6.00am with a four-gun -Salute to the Fallen' fired by the guns at historic Fort Scratchley. In keeping with tradition, there will be a controlled blackout of the site prior to the Dawn Service, with attendees asked to bring a torch, warm clothing and wet weather protection. Large LCD outdoor screens will provide full coverage of the Dawn Service.

Fort Scratchley Firing of the Guns and Open Day


At the conclusion of the Dawn Service at 6.00am there will be a moving four-gun -Salute to the Fallen' by the historic Mark 7 guns that fired on the Japanese submarine in June 1942 at Fort Scratchley. The guns will fire again at 1.00pm and 3.00pm, supported by the fully restored World War II 25 Pound Field Gun. The Fort Museum will be open to visitors from noon until 4.00pm.

Anzac Day March

The annual Anzac March will step off at 9.15am and proceed west along Hunter Street before turning left into Darby Street, right into King Street, and finishing in Civic Park. All active duty and retired services members are invited to participate as well as the descendants of service men and women, who are invited to wear the medals of their loved ones.

Shadows of Sacrifice

A new instalment of the Shadows of Sacrifice exhibition opens on 21 April at Newcastle Museum, looking at the events of 1915 – when Novocastrians joined their brothers from around the country to fight in the disastrous invasion of Gallipoli – as well as the dehumanisation of warfare.

Anzac Illustrated

This exhibition celebrates unique approaches to creating illustrated books for children and runs at the Lovett Gallery in the Newcastle Region Library until 2 May.

Anzac Day Superboat Challenge

The first round of the Australian Offshore Superboat Championship will be raced on Newcastle Harbour, with all crews made up of Aussies and Kiwis. Pole Position Shootout Time will be from 11.15am on Saturday 25 April.

Transport

NSW Trains, Newcastle Buses and Ferries and Newcastle Taxis will be running additional services for the Anzac Day 100 years commemoration events, to find out more information on these additional services please follow the Transport NSW Info link below.