The forthcoming Centenary of ANZAC will be commemorated in the Flinders electorate with a diverse and creative range of community projects.
On Remembrance Day today, I am delighted to announce that the Flinders ANZAC Centenary Community Grants Committee has approved a total of 22 local projects from across the Mornington Peninsula, Western Port and Phillip Island.
These projects will now be put forward to the Minister for Veterans Affairs, Senator the Hon Michael Ronaldson, for final approval.
Projects approved by the committee include a re-enactment of the firing of the Fort Nepean gun, which fired the British Empire’s first shot of World War I, the creation of a new war memorial at Red Hill and the final completion of the Cowes Cenotaph.
Other projects include the long-overdue relocation of the Somerville War Memorial and the creation of audio clips telling the individual stories behind five local war memorials, accessed by scanning a
QR code attached to each memorial.
With less than year to go until the 100th anniversary of the start of World War I, local school and community groups have been hard at work finalising their plans to mark this important milestone.
Their task was made easier recently when the incoming Coalition Government boosted the total amount of funding available to the Flinders electorate to $125,000.
The Centenary of ANZAC will be the most significant national period of commemoration in our nation’s history.
The ANZAC Centenary Local Grants Program will give the local community the opportunity to honour the service and sacrifice that epitomizes the ANZAC spirit.
I look forward to working with community groups across the electorate to deliver commemorations that will honour our nation’s centenary of service and mark this nation-defining event in ways that
we can all be proud of.