ANZAC Day Dawn Service
Hilton Beach Club Garden
Abu Dhabi
Friday 25 April 2014
Good morning.
Firstly, I’d like to thank everyone for coming out here in the darkness in such large numbers, especially all the boys and girls for starting your weekend a little earlier than usual. Secondly, I’d like to acknowledge the presence of Major General Mohammed Obaid Al Ali, Director of the Joint Operations Centre of the United Arab Emirates Armed Forces, representing our host nation. Thirdly, I’d like to thank Defence Attaché Colonel Darryl Groves and the Defence Section of the Australian Embassy for organising this year’s service. And finally, thank you to my fellow Ambassadors and members of the DA Corps, led by my co-host this morning New Zealand Ambassador Malcolm Millar. In particular, I’d like to acknowledge the Ambassador of the Republic of Turkey, His Excellency Vural Altay, for his participation in today’s Dawn Service, and for the close bonds of friendship which have formed over the years between Turkey, Australia and New Zealand.
Every year, the Department of Veterans’ Affairs in Australia publishes an ANZAC Day poster, choosing a particular theme to highlight in that given year. The 2014 poster, which is included with this morning’s program booklet, features two images. One is the memorial of the Bullecourt Digger which stands in the
Australian Memorial Park in France. The Bullecourt Digger commemorates the 10,000 soldiers of the Australian Imperial Force who were killed or wounded on the nearby Hindenburg Line of the Western Front in April and May 1917. The second, background image on the poster depicts members of the Australian Defence Force taking part in an ANZAC Day commemoration at Tarin Kot, Afghanistan.
Alongside the two images are four words recognising the importance of ANZAC Day: honouring, remembering, thanking and renewing.
The poster brings together our participation in a conflict which began 100 years ago this July, with our present day involvement in a conflict not far from these shores.
As in all wars, there are conspicuous acts of bravery which all nations, in one way or another, strive to recognise. In Australia, we have the Victoria Cross, or VC, which is our highest military decoration for valour in the face of the enemy. 61 Australian soldiers who fought in World War I were awarded the VC. Many
of those were earned in France, seven specifically after the fighting which the Bullecourt Digger commemorates.
Since 2008, four Australian soldiers who have fought as part of Australia’s military contribution in Afghanistan have been awarded the VC. The most recent recipient of the VC is Corporal Cameron Baird, and I would like to touch upon him this morning. In so doing, I fully acknowledge the contribution of all allied nations to the conflict in Afghanistan, including our hosts the United Arab Emirates, as well as New Zealand, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Denmark, France, Korea, Romania, Switzerland and Afghanistan, who are all represented here this morning.
Cameron Baird’s story is well documented in Australia, but perhaps not so much here. Born in Tasmania, but growing up in Melbourne, Cameron Baird excelled at sport, becoming a champion discus thrower and developing a passion - as many people in Melbourne did at the time and still do - for Australian Rules Football. In 1999, Cameron Baird was all set for what looked like a promising career as a professional Australian Rules footballer in the high-profile national competition, when a recurring shoulder injury cruelled those prospects. Within weeks, he had joined the Australian Army and went on to serve in East Timor, on two tours in Iraq and on four separate deployments to Afghanistan, on the second of which he was also
awarded the Medal for Gallantry. Corporal Baird served with the 2nd Commando Regiment, based at Sydney. He earned his VC in June 2013.
His citation for the Victoria Cross reads, in part:
“On three separate occasions Corporal Baird charged an enemy-held building...On the first occasion he charged the door to the building…Despite being totally exposed and immediately engaged by enemy fire, Corporal Baird pushed forward while firing into the building. Now in the closest proximity to the enemy, he was forced to withdraw when his rifle ceased to function. On rectifying his rifle stoppage…Corporal Baird again advanced towards the door of the building, once more under heavy fire. He engaged the enemy
through the door but was unable to suppress the position and took cover to reload. For a third time, Corporal Baird selflessly drew enemy fire away from his team and assaulted the doorway...In this third attempt, the enemy was neutralised and the advantage was regained.”
As Australian Ambassador to the UAE I have visited the Australian Defence Force’s Middle East Headquarters on many occasions. The Headquarters are located within the United Arab Emirates’ Al Minhad Air Base in Dubai. It has been our staging post for operations into Afghanistan. And we acknowledge and
thank the participation of personnel from Al Minhad at this Dawn Service.
On a few occasions I have had the melancholy duty to travel to Dubai to observe a “ramp ceremony”, which involves the coffin of an Australian soldier who was killed in Afghanistan being carried by his mates up the ramp of an Australian military transport plane. The plane then takes off for the voyage back to Australia,
delivering the coffin to its final resting place.
I took part in Cameron Baird’s ramp ceremony last June.
On 22 June 2013, Corporal Cameron Baird, VC MG, became the 40th, and hopefully the last, Australian soldier to be killed in Afghanistan. He was killed in the action that posthumously earned him the Victoria Cross, making him Australia’s 100th recipient of that decoration. The Victoria Cross was presented to
Corporal Baird’s parents by then Governor General Quentin Bryce in February this year, and I quote her:
"Mr and Mrs Baird, please take this precious medal for your son, Cameron. Feel its strength and timelessness in your hands...Know that in circumstances of extreme peril in conflict, Cameron…performed extraordinary acts of valour. With this medal, our nation honours him...Please hold it in your precious
care, as a mighty symbol of a courageous and devoted son of yours, and of Australia; a blood brother, a brother in arms; a soul mate to the 39 brothers before him whose lives were claimed by the Afghanistan campaign.”
Corporal Baird's family later said that Cameron “always went to the extreme to ensure that the ones he loved knew they were appreciated and he could always be relied upon to give a helping hand...”
Indeed, to the very end.
On the grounds of the Australian domestic compound at Al Minhad Air Base in Dubai is a memorial to the 40 Australian soldiers who have been killed in Afghanistan. A photo of each of them also hangs on a wall just inside the entrance to the main headquarters building. Earlier this year the Australian domestic
compound at Al Minhad Air Base was re-named Camp Baird.
I return to this year’s ANZAC Day poster. This year, it honours the men and women of the Australian Defence Force who are completing their service in Afghanistan, continuing the ANZAC
spirit and legacy in modern times.
It is a spirit and a legacy which lives on - in both Australia and New Zealand - and for which we should all honour, remember, thank and renew.
Lest We Forget.