General News
26 November, 2025
At the eleventh hour ...
THE Innisfail community has paid its respects to fallen soldiers on Remembrance Day.
On November 11, the Innisfail RSL cenotaph became the heart of remembrance at a solemn service to honour the courage and sacrifice of Australian soldiers across all wars and conflicts.
A large crowd paused and paid tribute to those who gave their lives for freedom.
Innisfail RSL sub-branch president Sean O’Shea addressed those in attendance and B J Price offered up a dedication prayer.
Piper Marc Darveniza played the ‘Lament’, during the wreath- laying ceremony with wreaths placed at the cenotaph, which included representatives from 51 FNQR, RAAF, all Royal Australian regiments, National Servicemen’s Association, Innisfail RSL sub-branch, Innisfail Police, Australian Volunteer Coastguard QF15, Lions Club, Greek Orthodox community, Sikh community, student leaders from Good Counsel Primary School, Good Counsel and Radiant Life colleges, as well as other individuals and community groups.
As the parade came to attention, bugler Oscar Van Haaren played the ‘Last Post’, before the ‘Reveille’ played, followed by one minute’s silence observed at the 11th hour and the reading of The Ode and Reveille.
An Innisfail RSL sub-branch spokesman said “we were honoured to see so many community members, veterans, families and local groups come together to pay tribute to those who served and sacrificed for our freedom”.
“Your presence and support made the day truly special. Thank you to everyone who participated and helped make this solemn occasion a meaningful success,” he said.
The Tully community acknowledged Remembrance Day with a ceremony held at the Bryant Street cenotaph.
At 11am on November 11, 1918, the guns of the western Front fell silent, after more than four years of continuous warfare.
This year marked 107th anniversary since the signing of the armistice agreement by Great Britain, France and Germany that ended World War I in 1918, a key moment in Australia’s history.
In the four years of the war, more than 330,000 Australians had served overseas and over 60,000 Australian service personnel had died.
The dead lay in cemeteries and unmarked graves around the world from New Britain in the southwest Pacific, to Mesopotamia, Gallipoli, the Sanai, Palestine and United Kingdom.
Nowhere on earth do Australia’s war dead lie in greater numbers, than in the soil of the Western Front in France and Belgium.
In 1919, King George V proclaimed one minutes’ silence at 11.00am on November 11, the first Remembrance Day.
After WWII, the Australian and British governments changed the name of Armistice Day to Remembrance Day in recognition of all those who died, suffered in war and those who continue to fight for the nation’s freedoms and way of life.
Today the Australian War Memorial’s Roll of Honour lists the names of more than 102,000 Australians who have lost their lives in war and conflict.
Two hundred and seventy-five of those lost lives were from the Innisfail district, whose names are now immortalised on the Great War honour roll in the Innisfail Shire Hall.
Thirty Queensland police constables who joined the Australian Imperial Force and the British Expeditionary Force never made it home.
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