LEST WE FORGET

ANZAC DAY 25TH APRIL 2005


Of the some 50,000 Australians who fought at Gallipoli, 8,709 were killed and 18,235 wounded; New Zealand suffered 2,701 killed and 4,880 wounded.
But the campaign gave to Australia a new pride. The Army had not failed. It had faced the horrors of modern war - the pain, the discomfort and the fear - with courage, determination and above all, good humour.

Banjo Paterson wrote as an open letter to the troops in 1915 a poem he titled "We're All Australians Now"


Australia takes her pen in hand,To write a line to you,To let you fellows understand,How proud we are of you.From shearing shed and cattle run,From Broome to Hobsons Bay,Each native-born Australian son,stands straighter up today.

The fisher-boys dropped sail and oarTo grimly stand the test,Along that storm-swept Turkish shore,With miners from the west.The old state jealousies of yoreAre dead as Pharaoh's sow, We're not State children any moreWe're all Australians now!

Our six-starred flag that used to fly,Half-shyly to the breeze,Unknown where older nations plyTheir trade on foreign seas,

Flies out to meet the morning blueWith Vict'ry at the prow;For that's the flag the Sydney flew,The wide seas know it now!

The honoured graves beneath the crestOf Gaba Tepe hill,May hold our bravest and our best,But we have brave men still.

With all our petty quarrels done,Dissensions overthrown,We have, through what you boys have done, A history of our own.

Fight on, fight on, unflinchingly,Till right and justice reign.Fight on, fight on, till VictoryShall send you home again.

And with Australia's flag shall flyA spray of wattle bough,To symbolise our unity,We're all Australians now.


ANZAC BISCUITS


1 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
1 cup rolled oats (regular oatmeal) uncooked
1 cup desiccated coconut
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 tablespoons golden syrup (or honey)
1 teaspoon baking soda (bicarb of soda)
2 tablespoons boiling water


Preheat oven to 180°C (350° F).
Combine flour, oats, coconut and sugar in a bowl.
Melt butter and Golden Syrup (or honey) in a saucepan over a low heat. Mix baking soda with water and add to butter and Golden Syrup. Let cool slightly. Pour liquids into dry ingredients and mix well.
Spoon dollops of mixture, about the size of a walnut shell, onto a greased tin leaving as much space again between dollops to allow for spreading.
Bake in a preheated 180°C (350° F) oven, for 15-20 minutes. Cool on a wire rack and seal in airtight containers.

ON THE GOING DOWN OF THE SUN, IN THE MORNING WE SHALL REMEMBER THEM....