Two local women are on a mission to honour not just their fathers but all those who have served our nation with 10,000 poppies and violets to honour veterans on Anzac Day. Christene Just and Jayne Hodge started the hand-sewn poppy and violet installation at the Mothers’ Memorial in Toowoomba more than five years ago.
The duo did so to honour their fathers, Malcolm Just and Nev Hodge, members of the Darling Downs’ 25th Battalion. Ms Just said this year’s installation will be the largest yet comprising more than 10,000 poppies and violets and that sewing volunteers were urgently needed. “On Anzac Day at the Mothers’ Memorial we want the visual impact of our poppy and violet installation to linger in the minds of the Toowoomba community,” Ms Just said. “If you can sew a button, you can volunteer.”
Member for Toowoomba South David Janetzki MP commended the installation and encouraged people to volunteer their services if they could. “ANZAC Day gives us the opportunity to remember those who have courageously and selflessly served our nation so that we may enjoy freedom and prosperity,” Mr Janetzki said. “This installation reminds us of the love, courage and endurance shared by our troops and their families throughout all conflicts in which Australians have served.”
Ms Just said that each element of the installation tells a different story. “The poppies signify a life; the white netting represents war brides and those women caught in the theatre of war and the violets pay tribute to the mothers and women of Toowoomba who funded the Mothers’ Memorial as a tribute to those who did not return,” she said.
The installation will be on display for three days at the Mother’s Memorial from 26th April 2020.
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