Sunrise hosts Monique Wright and Michael Usher have teared up following an emotional segment about the Anzac Day soldiers.
‘Goodness me it’s hard not to get… just think about you know all of the kids that grew up without dads, and even when the dads came back, the horrors that they brought back from war, and those of us who are raising young men, you know, how very different life,’ Monique said as she fought back tears.
Michael continued: ‘Oh that dear lady who, I think that’s the bit that got me where she said, you know, for the men who never came home, for the generation we lost, and I think the beautiful archived vision of all the old marches and all those faces that are now gone and, I certainly saw a gentleman in there that looked identical to my grandfather. They were men that, you know, went away and for so long.’
Meanwhile, massive queues have formed outside pubs across the nation, with some revellers lining up from as early as 9am.
Follow the Daily Mail’s live coverage of Anzac Day here.
09:36
Sunrise hosts in tears after watching emotional segment on the Anzac Day soldiers
Sunrise hosts Monique Wright and Michael Usher have teared up following an emotional segment about the Anzac Day soldiers.
More than 102,000 Australians have died in wars and operations since federation, including in World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq.
Many of the men were just out of high school when they volunteered or were called up to serve, with the impacts continued to be felt for generations.
‘Goodness me it’s hard not to get… just think about you know all of the kids that grew up without dads, and even when the dads came back, the horrors that they brought back from war, and those of us who are raising young men, you know, how very different life,’ Monique said as she fought back tears.
Michael continued: ‘Oh that dear lady who, I think that’s the bit that got me where she said, you know, for the men who never came home, for the generation we lost, and I think the beautiful archived vision of all the old marches and all those faces that are now gone and, I certainly saw a gentleman in there that looked identical to my grandfather. They were men that, you know, went away and for so long.
‘In families, didn’t really want to talk about what they went through, it was hard to get the stories out of them, but, I certainly know with my grandfather every Anzac Day, there was a, a rollercoaster of emotion during the day where he, he didn’t want to go and it was reluctant, but when he was with his, his coppers, his mates, the stories came out and then he was proud and proud for all of us as a family around him.’
Monique said it was OK for Australians to feel sad on Anzac Day.
‘It’s OK for us to be sad today and to remember that’s the least we can do,’ she said.
09:20
Huge queues start to form outside Sydney pubs
Queues have begun to form outside pubs across Sydney as dozens of revellers share a drink with friends and play a game of two-up.
Aussies started queuing as early as 9am on Saturday.
More queues in Paddington.
Lines outside The Clock in Paddington
Queues in Sackville in Sydney’s north-west
Queues are outside the Vik on the Park in Sydney’s inner-west
Queues outside The Harbord in Freshwater are pictured
Lines outside the Bellevue Hotel in Paddington
08:51
Aussies slam ‘kill the troops’ graffiti sprayed on the walls of Melbourne RSL
Locals have shared photos of anti-veteran rhetoric sprayed in red paint near the Reservoir Cenotaph in Melbourne’s north.
The words ‘kill the troops’ and ‘f*** Anzacs’ were sprayed on the walls of the Reservoir RSL in the hours before the dawn service on Saturday morning.
Aussies were quick to react to the graffiti in the comments of the Facebook post.
‘Disgraceful! They’ve been caught hopefully they get what’s coming to them!’ one person commented.
‘Absolutely disgraceful behaviour. I know they won’t be reading this, but they will definitely be boasting about it to people, if you know them, tell them how stupid they are,’ a second wrote.
‘Name and shame. And well done police for catching the scumbags and to the copper who stayed and tried to remove before the service,’ a third said.
The RSL responded to the ‘hateful’ incident in a statement.
‘Reservoir RSL Sub-Branch condemns in the strongest possible terms the cowardly act of vandalism committed against our Sub-Branch in the early hours of ANZAC Day,’ it read.
‘Sometime overnight, offenders targeted our building with hateful graffiti containing anti-veteran, anti-Australian Defence Force and deeply offensive slurs.
‘These messages were sprayed across multiple external walls of our club on one of the most sacred and significant days in our national calendar.
‘To deliberately target a veterans’ organisation on ANZAC Day is disgraceful.
‘It was clearly intended to cause hurt, division and distress to veterans, serving members, their families, and the broader community who gather each year to honour sacrifice and service.
‘Despite this hateful act, the offenders failed in their objective.’
The Daily Mail has contacted Victoria Police in relation to the incident.
07:58
‘Overwhelming’: BRS thanks Aussies for support, says Anzac Day is ‘bigger than me’
Ben Roberts-Smith said he was thinking about the families of service members and the ultimate sacrifice many have made in defence of the nation.
The former SAS soldier attended an Anzac Day service in Currumbin on the Gold Coast on Saturday with his partner Sarah Matulin.
He told reporters that Australia owed them a ‘deep debt’.
‘Everyone should be reflecting and commemorating the service of all of those Australians that have given us the country that we live in,’ he said.
The decorated former soldier said the support from Aussies had been ‘overwhelming’ after he was charged with five counts of war crime murder, allegedly committed during his service with the SAS in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2012.
He has not yet entered a plea to the charges.
‘Today is bigger than me,’ he said. ‘This is a day… about remembering every single person that has given us the country that we live in.’
07:10
Australia’s Governor-General attends North Bondi service after terror attack
While her colleagues gathered at the Australian War Memorial, Sam Mostyn was pictured attending a dawn service in North Bondi in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.
The Governor-General accepted an invitation to the service to be with the community following the Bondi Beach massacre in December.
15 people lost their lives after shots were allegedly fired at a Chanukah by the Sea event held at the iconic beach on December 14.
‘It was important to me to come here. Josh Farquhar, chair of North Bondi RSL, invited me to be here in the days after the terrible things that happened here in December, Mostyn told Sunrise on Saturday morning.
‘And it was such a beautiful request because this club has the youngest membership age, so it’s about a 35-year-old average age at this RSL.
‘It represents so much of what the modern theatre of war and what modern defence represents, but particularly for the families.
‘And so to be invited to a commemoration that’s so modern and so natural and with 30,000 people coming to this beach, many of them with no attachment to defence more to a person who served, but because they want to show deep respect and thanks.’
Sam Mostyn is pictured at the North Bondi service on Saturday.
06:50
‘Bunch of louts’: RSL president apologises to Aboriginal leader who was heckled
RSL NSW acting president, retired brigadier Vince Williams, had strong words for those who sought to disrupt the proceedings.
‘I apologise unreservedly to Uncle Ray… his family has contributed enormously to our nation through from the First World War to the current day,” he told the ABC.
‘I’m pretty convinced that none of the bunch of louts who were booing have ever done anything constructive for our nation.’
NSW Premier Chris Minns said he was disappointed by the actions of a ‘small number of people’ at the Martin Place dawn service.
‘Anzac Day should always be treated with the respect, solemnity and reverence it deserves,’ he said in a statement.
‘Whilst I’ve never heard booing like that at a dawn service, I’ve also never heard a crowd spontaneously applause like they did for Uncle Ray Minniecon.
‘That act made it clear what the view of the vast majority attending were.
‘This is a day to honour sacrifice.’
RSL NSW acting president, retired brigadier Vince Williams, is pictured.
06:43
Man, 24, is arrested for ‘alleged act of nuisance’ after dawn service in Sydney
A young man has been arrested in Sydney’s Martin Place after he allegedly heckled an Aborignal leader as he performed the Acknowledgement of Country.
Pastor Uncle Ray Minniecon was interrupted by loud boos just seconds into his speech at the packed dawn service.
NSW Police confirmed a 24-year-old man was arrested for ‘an alleged act of nuisance’ during the service and said several others were moved on.
Uncle Ray Minniecon addressed the interruption after the ceremony.
‘We do have laws to try and deter people from this but it seems like these people still want to be lawless,’ he told media at the event.
‘They just need to realise their place in this country… and show their deepest respect.’
06:25
Richard Marles slams ‘disgraceful’ hecklers who booed at Aboriginal leaders
Defence Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles has lashed hecklers who interrupted speeches being made by Aboriginal leaders as ‘deeply disgraceful’.
‘I think it’s disgraceful and it’s deeply disappointing,’ he told the ABC.
‘Acknowledgments to Country are an act of respect, and what characterises today is that it is a day of respect, and to boo in that way goes completely against that.
‘It is deeply disgraceful.’
06:19
Anthony Albanese thanks veterans as he attends dawn service with Jodie Haydon
Anthony Albanese has shared a message with Australia as he and his wife Jodie Haydon attended a dawn service in the nation’s capital.
The Prime Minister was pictured at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, where he laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Fallen Soldier.
On Friday, Albanese released a pre-recorded message thanking servicemen and women for their sacrifice.
‘Across our continent, from the biggest cities to the smallest country town, and in every corner of the world made hallow by the sacrifice of our fallen, we gather in respect, reflection, gratitude and pride,’ he said.
‘We remember all who lived to keep fighting and all who finally made it home, but with the battle raging forever in their hearts.
‘We reflect on all they went through and all they were up against, and we give thanks for the difference they made just when the world needed it most.’
Albanese had originally been scheduled to be in Gallipoli for Anzac Day, but cancelled the plans after the US-Iran war started.
06:08
Ben Roberts-Smith shares defiant message as he takes selfies with Gold Coast supporters
Accused war criminal Ben Roberts-Smith has been swarmed by supporters at an Anzac Day dawn service in Queensland this morning.
Australia’s most decorated soldier, 47, was pictured on Currumbin Beach, on the Gold Coast, his medals of service pinned to his suit jacket.
He shared a defiant message with the media following the emotional service.
‘I’ve never thought about not coming, I was always going to be here,’ the former SAS soldier told the ABC.
Photos show a beaming Roberts-Smith chatting with veterans, shaking the hand of a naval officer, and smiling for selfies with supporters.
He attended the service with his partner, Sarah Matulin, and his parents.
Ms Matulin appeared to be moved by the early-morning ceremony and was seen blowing her nose, as thousands turned out to pay their respects.
Roberts-Smith said he was thinking about the families of service members and the ultimate sacrifice many have made in defence of the nation.
He said the country owed them a ‘deep debt’.
‘Everyone should be reflecting and commemorating the service of all of those Australians that have given us the country that we live in,’ he said.
The decorated former soldier said the support from Aussies had been ‘overwhelming’ after he was charged with five counts of war crime murder, allegedly committed during his service with the SAS in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2012.
He has not yet entered a plea to the charges.
‘Today is bigger than me,’ he said. ‘This is a day… about remembering every single person that has given us the country that we live in.’
Ben Roberts-Smith seen chatting with veterans at Anzac Day service
Accused war criminal Ben Roberts-Smith has made an appearance at an Anzac Day dawn service in Queensland this morning.
06:04
Aboriginal leaders booed as they addressed crowds at packed dawn services
Aboriginal leaders at dawn services across Australia have been met with loud booing as they addressed the large crowds.
Indigenous serviceman and pastor Uncle Ray Minnecon, whose grandfather served in the Light Horse Brigade, was booed as he began his speech in Sydney.
The loud booing began just seconds after he started to speak and lasted for about a minute.
Uncle Minniecon was met with warm applause as he finished his address.
Meanwhile in Melbourne, Uncle Mark Brown was met with a similar reception, with members of the crowd interrupting his speech with loud boos.
‘Today, I’m here to welcome everyone to my father’s country,’ Uncle Mark said as the boos started.
People began to cheer, seemingly in an effort to drown out the boos.
And in Adelaide, a small section of the crowd began to boo but quickly piped down.
Uncle Ray Minnecon delivers the Acknowledgement of Country on Saturday.
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