The list of special guests was a lengthy one, with MPs John Barilaro and Peter Hendy being in attendance, along with District President of the RSL, Warren Thompson.

Beyond these there were representatives from the defence forces, the church and neighbouring sub-branches, while Mayor Bob Stewart was also present.

Giving welcome to all was the Bombala Sub-Branch’s Rob Letts, who spoke on the idea behind the evening.

“We gather on the centenary of the Anzac landings to honour the active service, sacrifice and support to the nation’s wartime efforts, in all theatres, by the men and women of the Southern Monaro,” he said.

Mr Letts went on to outline the three developments that form the main focus of our district’s commemoration of Anzac and WWI in this important year.

The first was the installation of the memorial at Gunnago Park which features a sculpted rock centrepiece and 34 smaller boulders to signify the 34 names of the fallen listed on our cenotaph.

Welcomed to the dinner were Anne and Ned Kater who have donated one of the most prominent rocks, which was often used at ‘Redcliffe’ as a seat by Annie’s great uncle, who served and died at Anzac.

The second development mentioned to commemorate the occasion was the publication of the Men from Snowy River March book, with the book’s author, Natalie Armstrong being another special guest of the evening.

Finally, Mr Letts spoke of the Bombala High School research project that has been taken on as part of the commemoration, with students working with teacher, Caitlin Morrison to research the name of WWI servicemen on the local cenotaph.

The official proceedings of the evening continued with a minute’s silence followed by The Ode, Grace delivered by Rev Judy Holdsworth, and the Loyal Toast by the sub-branch’s Roger Moulds.

Following the main course the gathering then had the pleasure of hearing from guest speaker, Rev Bob Lindebeck, who spoke of his years serving in rural parishes and as a chaplain to the Goulburn RSL Sub-Branch.

The evening also included a presentation to local lady, Carol Badewitz, who not only decorated the auditorium for the evening,but also guided the recent community challenge of creating 2,000 poppies to adorn our cenotaph gardens on Anzac Day.

A very pleasant evening was shared between the locals in attendance and our visiting guests, with the dinner itself being a part of the many activities that will mark the Centenary of Anzac within our district.