ANZAC Day in Ararat was a beautiful memorial service not only commemorating those men and women who gave their lives, but the animals who did too.
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Following on from the dawn service, the mid-morning service was packed out as people from every part of the community arrived to pay their respects.
The sky was clear and calm and the atmosphere was friendly but solemn as the crowd rose to watch the Anzac Day parade make its way down Barkly Street.
The Returned Services League of Ararat president Frank Neulist welcomed the crowd, which included World War II veteran Frank Schmidt.
Mr Neulist gave an introductory speech.
"The scale of slaughter is even to this day hard to comprehend, with an entire generation of men devastated and a land left bare and scarred for decades," he said.
"Many of you have noticed over the years our inclusion of the local Maori community in our services.
"We recognise their inclusion as an acknowledgement of Anzac as Australian and New Zealand Army Corp, and that our combined spirit of Anzac makes us a better community and also better individuals."
Mr Neulist then introduced the theme and the guest speaker, Senior Constable Nigel Allsopp.
"Today we honour a different veteran, who has also served in every conflict alongside their human companions - the war animals," he said.
Senior Constable Allsopp works with dogs in the Queensland Police Service and is a canine expert, and is the founding member of the Australian War Animals Memorial Association.
"We're here every Anzac Day to honour our heroes, the two-legged diggers both from Australia and New Zealand," he said.
"Without taking anything away from them today, I'd also like to briefly discuss the role of the four-legged diggers and feathered diggers that have served both our nations greatly.
"It's fair to say we could not have fought World War I and previous wars since then without the aid of animals, including today."
The talk was punctuated by the occasional bark or yip of a happy four-legged friend, garnering a few chuckles from the crowd.
Following his talk, Maori community representatives were invited to speak, and they also sang and performed a haka for the crowd.
Children from both the Ararat Primary School 800 and Ararat West combined to form a choir, and singing teacher Leanne McCready led them in the national anthem.
Throughout the service the Ararat City Band played music.
Naval members of the HMAS Cerberus were also in attendance.
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