Trumpet players atop mailboxes, lambs wanting to be fed, and plenty of quiet, candlelit reflections with birdsong accompaniment - photographs flowing in have showed that rural Queenslanders have adapted perfectly to the special needs of Anzac Day 2020.
Heeding the call of the Queensland RSL to "light up the dawn" with a candle at the end of their driveways in lieu of official dawn services that were cancelled, bush families created some very personal ways of paying their respects to servicemen and women throughout the decades.
One of those was Longreach School of Distance Education Year 6 student Jennifer Scholes who learnt the Last Post especially for the day.
Jennifer, her brother Tom and governess Kate Donnelly camped out last night, toasting marshmallows, to make sure they didn't miss the dawn.
"She had a good strong start (on the trumpet) and just a bit of a wobble in the middle," her mother Kath Scholes reported, not bad for an 11-year-old standing on a mailbox as the sun came up.
Further west, at Home Creek Station south of Barcaldine, the Chandler family laid bush wreaths at the graves of family members buried in the property cemetery, two of them ex-servicemen.
"It somehow felt more personal and special this year," Marcelle Chandler said, reflecting on the difference to other years.
In Brisbane, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said she was deeply moved by the outpouring of support for this year's Anzac Day, with usual services, ceremonies and marches cancelled because of COVID-19 restrictions.
"We've never seen an Anzac Day like this," she said.
"What I love about Queenslanders and Australians who also took to their driveways across the country, is that no matter what, we honour our Anzacs.
"When events were cancelled, we saw this incredible movement helped by social media where people were making displays, sharing them online and pledging to take part at home.
"Today we've shown that the spirit of the Anzacs lives on in every one of us and while we couldn't take part in the traditional way, what's important is honouring and remembering them, their sacrifices and service, even from home.
"And you never know, we may have just started a new tradition."
Today marks 104 years since the first Anzac Day commemorations, and 105 years since the landing at Gallipoli during the First World War when Queensland soldiers of the 9th Battalion went ashore at Gallipoli around 4.30am on April 25, 1915.
Of the 417,000 people in the Australian Imperial Force during the First World War, 57,705 were Queenslanders, and many never returned home.
Sally Gall
Based at Blackall, CW Qld, where I've raised a family, run Merino sheep and beef cattle, and helped develop a region - its history, tourism, education and communications. Get in touch at 0427 575 955 if you've got a story idea for me.
Based at Blackall, CW Qld, where I've raised a family, run Merino sheep and beef cattle, and helped develop a region - its history, tourism, education and communications. Get in touch at 0427 575 955 if you've got a story idea for me.
