Archived here on SAMVO website in case the link online is taken down online over time
This article was published on the Cairns Post website.
CAIRNS-BASED South African military veterans are set to pay their respects and honour their ancestors’ sacrifices for the first time by laying a wreath.
QLD_CP_NEWS_SOUTH_AFRICA_19APR16
CAIRNS-BASED South African military veterans are set to pay their respects and honour their ancestors’ sacrifices for the first time by laying a wreath on Anzac Day.
Despite years of participation in Anzac Day in capital cities across the nation, the newly formed Cairns branch South African Military Veterans Organisation (SAMVOA) of Australasia will be the first South African group to participate in the Cairns event.
They will march alongside Anzac veterans, hoisting a specially made banner bearing a springbok – the South African national animal – and information about the wars the nation has fought in.
Leader and former South African soldier Gavin Tischendorf, who migrated to Melbourne before landing in Cairns last month, said South African forces had a long history of camaraderie with Commonwealth armies, including Australia.
South African forces had fought alongside Australia in World War I, World War II and during the Korean War.
“There are 11 members that have so far signed up to the cause, and there are many other South African ex-servicemen in this region, as well as Rhodesians and Zimbabweans,” he said.
“I ended up starting the club after speaking to a few people up here. Then, I was asked if we were a part of Anzac Day, and I said ‘not yet’, so they asked if we wanted to participate or lay a wreath,” he said.
“South Africa used to be a Commonwealth nation, so it retained some of the British policies and traditions ... we retain that Commonwealth camaraderie.”
Mr Tischendorf, who was conscripted to join the South African army on finishing school, said speaking with people at the Cairns RSL had rekindled his service memories.
“RSL clubs are everywhere in Australia, but South Africa and the continent as a whole doesn’t have much of that.”
The Cairns dawn service will start at the Cenotaph on the Cairns Esplanade at 5.30am. The official wreath laying will begin at 5.50am.
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