There will be an added sense of sobriety and sombre reflection when Maitland marks the 100th anniversary of the Gallipoli landing on Saturday.
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The city and surrounding districts are in mourning over the loss of lives and struggling to come to terms with the devastation from flooding.
One thing we can be confident of is that Maitland’s people will come through this latest test of their resolve.
They will do it the same way our Anzacs and their families picked up the pieces of the devastation of World War I the way subsequent generations have done when coping with war and natural disasters.
Families will support one another, friends will chip in and help with the clean up along with our magnificent emergency services people.
But most of all, we will do it together.
If anything, that is the greatest legacy of the Anzac tradition – mateship.
When the chips were down, the world was in turmoil and there seemed no hope, men in the trenches could turn to one another to share their experience and know they were not alone.
In the years after the war, those same mates joined together on Anzac Day and through various associations such as the RSL.
But most importantly the men’s wives, children and parents were there as well with the all-important reassurance of their love and presence.
Australia owes a debt to the young men and women who went to war.
We also owe a debt to the families at home who helped those who returned to re-establish their lives and forge wonderful communities such as Maitland.
The Anzac qualities do not rest with a distant generation. They are inside all of us and come to the fore in testing times.