By BRIDGET COOK
THE City of Casey plans to engage developers in the area to works towards commemorating the ANZAC centenary next year.
Next year Australia will commemorate the Anzac Centenary, marking 100 years since the beginning of the Gallipoli campaign of World War I.
At a council meeting last week, councillors unanimously resolved to consult developers working on land in Casey in 2014/15 to explore ways to honour the momentous occasion.
The council now plans to engage with local historical societies and RSLs to identify local historical connections with the Gallipoli campaign.
Officers will then encourage developers to honour those local servicemen through the naming of streets and public places, in accordance with the Anzac Commemorative Naming Project.
Casey mayor Geoff Ablett, who raised the idea, said through these actions he hoped that the ANZAC spirit will live on in Casey for many years to come.
“Each year, we gather as a community in the first light of dawn to commemorate and remember the courage and sacrifice of the Australian and New Zealand soldiers who lost their lives at Anzac Cove,” he said.
“Our 100th year of that day at ANZAC Cove is upon us.
“The ANZAC spirit now infuses our national character.
“It gives us a sense of self-belief that we are able to draw upon in times of need and allows us to meet tough challenges because we know those that have come before us have done so.
“Our community is at the heart of the ANZAC legacy – this is what they fought for, and what every service man and woman wearing the Australian uniform fights for.
“One of the best ways we can honour the ANZAC spirit is to ensure that we appreciate and nurture our way of life right here in our community.”
Dandenong Cranbourne RSL sub branch president John Wells said he believed it was a great idea.
“I think we need to seize the opportunity while people are focused on it,” he said.
“That way we can ensure we carry forward the values of the ANZACs and their message for hundreds of years.
“The values of courage, human spirit in adversity, responsibility for yourself and others, self-respect, sense of duty and patriotism.
“If we don’t carry the values forward and don’t teach them to our children, then the whole ANZAC campaign is nonsense.
“It’s about taking the best parts of our past and taking them into the future.”
