Each year, in the 11th month, on the 11th day, at the 11th hour, our great nation pauses to remember.

 

In a moment of stillness and silence, we honour all Australians who have served, suffered and sacrificed in wars, conflicts and peacekeeping operations throughout our history.

 

We pay tribute to the more than 103,000 Australians who gave their lives defending others and preserving our freedom.

 

On this fateful day 107 years ago, the guns fell silent after four years of unimaginable loss.

 

Among those who served was Henry Weston Pryce, born and raised at Woolway Station in the Monaro.

 

He was one of three boys in his family. He enlisted on 16 June 1916, and on the 11^th of November 1918, he left us these immortal lines:

 

The echoes die, the smoke-clouds thin and pass,

 

The cannons are, like statues, dumb and cold:

 

Silent the crosses wait, and in the grass

 

The spent shells gleam like gold.

 

All spent he lay and dreamed till the moment came:

 

Now, waking with a cry, he looks, all wonder

 

To see the empty sky hurl down no flame:

 

To hear no crack of thunder.

 

Many, like Henry, returned from the war. Too many did not, and Henry’s brothers were not afforded his fate.

 

Their loss, and the loss felt by their families, remains with us.

 

Each Remembrance Day at the eleventh hour, we observe one minute of silence. We do so to honour those who made the ultimate sacrifice so that others might live in freedom and peace.

 

Their courage asks that we reflect, learn and recommit ourselves to the highest ideals of humanity: to safeguard freedom, defend democracy and protect the future of generations to come.

 

With still hearts, we pay our respects.

 

With steady grace, we stand with those who made it home, and with the families of those who fell far from home.

 

And with quiet resolve, we renew our determination to preserve the freedoms they fought to secure.

 

May the deeds and sacrifices of Australia’s servicemen and women be forever honoured.

 

May we never forget the cost of peace.

 

Lest we forget.

 

 

ENDS.