ANZAC Day No.21

ABOVE: Fr Garland, surrounded by a sea of wreaths and floral tributes, addresses the crowd gathered around The Stone of Remembrance at Brisbane’s Toowong Cemetery for the Anzac Day observance conducted on Monday, 26 April 1937 – set back a day because Anzac Day itself fell on a Sunday that year. The public debate over whether this was the right thing to do was vigorous. The above image appeared on the front page of Monday’s afternoon’s edition of “The Telegraph” newspaper.

ANZAC DAY IN 1937.
Sunday Will Be No Obstacle.

The joint honorary secretaries of the Anzac Day Commemoration Committee, Canon Garland [ David John Garland ] and Captain E.R.B. Pike [ Eustace Royston Baum Pike ] referring to published statements as to the observance of Anzac Day in 1937, which that year falls upon a Sunday, say that this was foreseen when the original Act for the Observance of Anzac Day was passed.

It will be found that provision is made so far as the Act is concerned for its observance on the Monday.

In 1926, when a similar occurrence took place, the arrangements proved perfectly satisfactory.
The day was kept on the Monday, when the Church services were followed by the usual lunches, and the public meetings took place, and in the country gatherings at memorials and in the evenings the public meetings all took place, the returned soldiers’ parade taking place on the Sunday.

Some Churches made reference to the observance on the Sunday.

As there was no difficulty in 1926 there is no reason for any difficulty in 1937 unless outside influences succeed in disturbing the happy, relations between The Returned Sailors’ and Soldiers’ [ Imperial ] League [ of Australia ] and the Anzac Day Commemoration Committee, which worked in complete harmony when a similar difficulty was overcome in 1926.

– from page 4 of “The Daily Standard” (Brisbane), 3 June 1936.