Top 5 ANZAC Day centenary events around Australia

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This year’s ANZAC Day marks the centenary of the Gallipoli campaign. Jac Taylor shares her top five commemorative events around Australia.

1. Great Ocean Road, Melbourne

Constructed by returned First World War soldiers over 14 years following the war’s end, the Great Ocean Road could be seen as the world’s largest war memorial. Take in the memorial arch just west of Aireys Inlet and catch the dawn service on Saturday at Point Danger in Torquay.

 

Then head in to Melbourne for the many exhibitions being held: a display of archaeological finds from the Gallipoli battlefield (Shrine of Remembrance, Birdwood Ave, Melbourne); more than 350 wartime artefacts on loan from London’s Imperial War Museums (Melbourne Museum, Nicholson St, Carlton Gardens), and war propaganda, newsreels, advertisements and features from the early 20th century (Australian Centre for the Moving Image, Federation Square).

2. Canberra

If you’re not making the trip to Gallipoli, this is the next most traditional way to mark the day. The Australian War Memorial  has been commemorating the centenary of the First World War since last year, but of course ANZAC Day is probably the most important day of that commemoration.

 

Anzac Day commemorations in the Nation’s Capital begin on the evening of Sunday 23 April with images of Australia’s service men and women being projected on the Memorial building. These projections will run until the commencement of the Dawn Service on Tuesday 25th April.

 

On Tuesday, excerpts from the letters and diaries of Australians who experienced war firsthand will be read aloud by a representative from each of the armed forces from 4.30 am.

 

At 4:55pm the Last Post Ceremony will commence in the War Memorial’s Commemorative Area. All members of the public are welcome to attend this special ceremony.

3. Camp Gallipoli, several locations

A one-off celebration held concurrently in seven cities, this is a chance to sleep out under the stars in a digger-style swag in a huge display of ‘mateship’. Be entertained by special guests, documentaries and films, and rise along with your newfound friends for dawn service on ANZAC morning in Sydney, Adelaide, Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane, Hobart, Auckland. Camp Gallipoli is sounding pretty special.

4. Winton, Queensland

ANZAC Day falls on the last day of the eight-day Angel Flight Outback Trailblazer 4WD event in Winton – so you know spending ANZAC Day here will inject plenty of larrikin into proceedings. Along with the dawn service and march, highlights include breakfast at the local RSL; the Aussier-than-anything Waltzing Matilda Centre; an impromptu singalong with the pianola at the North Gregory Hotel, where the song itself was first played; and finally ’40s-era big bands will swing Winton’s Shire Hall so you can party like it’s 1945.

5. Albany, WA

The birthplace of the dawn service, and the last sight of Australia many soldiers had as they set off for war, Albany has a full and fascinating plan to commemorate ANZAC Day this year. More is happening than can be listed here, but events include parades, a ‘gunfire breakfast’, music and poetry tributes, concerts, screenings, re-enactments, storytelling, yacht races, a football match and race day on top of all that. The town square will be transformed into a 1915 time capsule over the ANZAC weekend, and of course all of Albany’s sights such as the National ANZAC Centre, Pier of Remembrance, Princess Royal Fortress Military Museum and Forts Museum make a trip here absolutely worthwhile. See Anzac Albany

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This luxe trawler tour is redefining Victoria’s seafood experience

    Chloe CannBy Chloe Cann
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    Victoria’s ‘mussel capital’ is the source of exceptional shellfish used by top chefs far and wide. Step aboard a beautifully refurbished trawler to see how these plump and juicy bivalves are sustainably cultivated.

    A curtain is slowly winched from the placid, teal waters just off Portarlington , like a floating garland beside our boat. The ropes heave with blue mussels, the star attraction of our tour. But as we reach to pluck our own, it’s quickly clear they’re not alone; a mass of weird and wonderful creatures has colonised the ropes, turning them into a living tapestry. ‘Fairy’ oysters, jelly-like sea squirts, and tiny, wriggling skeleton shrimp all inhabit this underwater ecosystem.

    We prize our bivalve bounty from the ropes, and minutes later the mussels arrive split on a platter. The plump orange morsels are served raw, ready to be spritzed with wedges of lemon and a lick of chilli as we gaze out over the bay. They’re briny, tender and faintly sweet. “This wasn’t originally part of the tour,” explains Connie Trathen, who doubles as the boat’s cook, deckhand and guide. “But a chef [who came onboard] wanted to taste the mussels raw first, and it’s now become one of the key features.”

    A humble trawler turned Hamptons-style dreamboat

    inspecting bivalve bounty from the ropes
    Inspecting the bounty. (Image: Visit Victoria/Hannyn Shiggins)

    It’s a crisp, calm winter’s day, and the sun is pouring down upon Valerie, a restored Huon pine workhorse that was first launched in January 1980. In a previous life she trawled the turbulent Bass Strait. These days she takes jaunts into Port Phillip Bay under the helm of Lance Wiffen, a fourth-generation Bellarine farmer, and the owner of Portarlington Mussel Tours . While Lance has been involved in the fishing industry for 30-plus years, the company’s tour boat only debuted in 2023.

    holding Portarlington mussels
    See how these plump and juicy bivalves are sustainably cultivated.

    It took more than three years to transform the former shark trawler into a dreamy, Hamptons-esque vessel, with little expense spared. Think muted green suede banquettes, white-washed walls, Breton-striped bench cushions, hardwood tables, bouquets of homegrown dahlias, and woollen blankets sourced from Waverley Mills, Australia’s oldest working textile mill. It’s intimate, too, welcoming 12 guests at most. And yet there’s nothing pretentious about the experience – just warm, down-to-earth Aussie hospitality.

    As we cruise out, we crack open a bottle of local bubbles and nibble on the most beautifully curated cheese platter, adorned with seashells and grey saltbush picked from the water’s edge that very morning. Australasian gannets soar overhead, and I’m told it’s not uncommon for guests to spot the odd seal, pod of dolphins, or even the occasional little penguin.

    The sustainable secret behind Victoria’s best mussels

    blue mussels off Portarlington
    Blue mussels sourced just off Portarlington.

    Connie and Lance both extol the virtues of mussels. They’re delicious. A lean source of protein and packed with omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin B12, iron, selenium, and zinc. They’re cooked in a flash (Connie steams our fresh harvest with cider and onion jam). And they’re also widely regarded as one of the most sustainable foods in the world.

    Portarlington mussels with lemon and chilli
    Mussels served with lemon and chilli.

    “Aquaculture is [often] seen as destructive, so a lot of our guests are really surprised about how environmentally friendly and sustainable our industry is,” Lance says. “[Our mussels] would filter 1.4 billion litres of water a day,” he adds, explaining how mussels remove excess nitrogen and phosphorus from the water. “And through biomineralisation, we lock carbon into mussel shells.”

    a hand holding a Portarlington mussel
    Mussels are a sustainable food.

    Despite their glowing list of accolades, these molluscs have long been seen as the oysters’ poorer cousins. “It was a really slow start,” explains Lance, who says that in the early days of his career, “you could not sell mussels in Victoria”.

    But word has slowly caught on. Chefs as globally acclaimed as Attica’s Ben Shewry and even René Redzepi of Noma, Denmark, have travelled to these very waters just to try the shellfish at the source, sharing only the highest praise, and using Lance’s mussels in their restaurants.

    guests sampling Portarlington mussels onboard
    Sampling the goods onboard. (Image: Visit Victoria/Hannyn Shiggins)

    According to Lance there’s one obvious reason why the cool depths of Portarlington outshine other locations for mussel farming. “The water quality is second to none,” he says, noting how other regions are frequently rocked by harvest closures due to poor water quality. “We grow, without a doubt, some of the best shellfish in the world.” And with Lance’s bold claims backed up by some of the industry’s greatest names, perhaps it won’t be much longer until more Aussies uncover the appeal of Portarlington’s mussels.