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Spirit lives on

Staff ReporterEastern Reporter

THEY came from both sides of what we call the ‘moat’,

Then sailed across the ocean on a Royal Navy boat.

There were men from every calling from city and the farms,

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They heeded the call of freedom, to become brothers in arms.

From Auckland to Sydney, from Queenstown to Perth,

Came these sons of the Empire, the salt of mother earth.

From New Zealand’s majestic beauty, to Australia’s parched outback,

They humped their swags and blueys, and never one looked back.

The call to arms it beckoned to do that which was right,

For if any man craves freedom, he must be prepared to fight.

And fight they did these brothers, his duty did every man,

But on the shores of that beachhead, things did not go to plan.

They came ashore at dawn, on that well-remembered day,

Through shot and shell they battled at that blood-soaked bay.

But sheer guts and determination, it made history so they say,

And the spirit of those brothers came very much into play.

Up from the beach they went, along some scrub-covered track,

Fought, those gallant heroes, with national pride at stake.

Heroes one and all, and no courage did they lack,

Many fell, but their brothers pressed on, never their ranks did break.

A spirit was shown to all the world on that fateful April day,

Many years have passed since then, but no matter where we rove.

There remains a bond between our nations, in life’s unfolding play,

This joining of our clans at what we now call Anzac Cove.

Ray Peake, Belmont