Local service and sacrifice were front of mind at Avenel and Violet Town's ANZAC Day services, with both towns' wartime history and community legacy forming the focus of the addresses given. Over 150 people attended each of the two towns' morning services, which were led by Australian Army catafalque parties. Member for Euroa Annabelle Cleeland told gatherings at both Avenel and Violet Town that ANZAC Day was deeply personal for local communities, where the names etched on local memorials represented families and generations shaped by service. “When you stand here and read those names, you realise they are not just names,” Ms Cleeland said. “They are families. They are stories. They are these towns.” Ms Cleeland said the district’s legacy of service was also reflected in the surrounding landscape, pointing to Maygar’s Hill and Tubb’s Hill as tributes to Lieutenant Colonel Leslie Maygar VC and Major Frederick Tubb VC. She also acknowledged Corporal Alexander Burton VC, who was killed at Lone Pine during the Gallipoli campaign, noting that three Victoria Crosses came from within the district. “The fact that three Victoria Cross recipients came from communities like ours says something powerful about this region,” Ms Cleeland said. She also said those who served were 'ordinary people who made extraordinary choices', with many leaving country towns to serve at Gallipoli, on the Western Front, and in conflicts across generations. She said remembrance carried a responsibility to ensure future generations understood the meaning of that service. “Remembrance is not just about looking back,” she said. “It is about making sure these stories are carried forward.” The services concluded with wreath laying, a minute’s silence, and the reading of a poem in tribute to ANZAC Day.
