On 25 April 2015 I will represent the Australian Government at ANZAC Day commemoratio...

1. Belgium ANZAC Day commemorations, Media release, 24
Apr 2015, Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs, The Hon
Julie Bishop MP
On 25 April 2015 I will represent the Australian Government at ANZAC Day commemorations in
Ypres, Belgium to highlight the importance Australia attaches to honouring sacrifices made on the
Western Front during the First World War.
Nearly 13,000 Australians lost their lives in Belgium during the First World War. In Ypres, from
August to November 1917, Australia suffered 38,000 casualties - our most costly experience of war.
At Ypres, I will participate in a number of local commemorative events. I will deliver an address at
the Buttes New British Cemetery Dawn Service and at the Tyne Cot Cemetery Ceremony in
Zonnebeke. I will have the honour of reading the Ode of Remembrance at the Menin Gate ANZAC
Day service and deliver a remembrance speech at the Toronto Avenue Cemetery.
To honour Australians who died in Belgium during the First World War the Government of Flanders
and the Australian War Memorial have agreed to establish a commemorative garden at the
Australian War Memorial. On ANZAC Day I will join the Minister-President of Flanders, Mr Geert
Bourgeois, and take samples of soil from Tyne Cot Cemetery. The Minister for Veterans' Affairs, the

2. Hon Michael Ronaldson, who will also visit Belgium in coming days for First World War
commemorative activities, will bring the soil back to Australia for the commemorative garden.
Today, as part of ANZAC Day commemorations, I will deliver a speech at the Menin Gate Last Post
ceremony. This ceremony has been held every evening since 1928, except for the period of German
occupation during the Second World War. It is a moving tribute to the lasting debt of gratitude we
all owe to the men who fought and fell in Belgium.
I offer deep appreciation to the people of Ypres for continuing to uphold the memory of fallen
Australian service men and women and for maintaining the sites of sacrifice with care and respect.
Minister's office: (02) 6277 7500DFAT Media Liaison: (02) 6261 1555
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