General News
1 May, 2025
Rainbow marks first Dawn service in 10 years
Rainbow residents gathered at the Rainbow War Memorial on Federal Street for Anzac Day Dawn Service — the town’s first in a decade.
The service was to honour the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, which began at 6.30am, followed by a light breakfast and commemorative activities.
Guest speaker Ryan Reffler delivered a powerful address reflecting on the lasting impacts of war.
Peter Gosling played the Last Post to mark the solemn occasion.
The Dawn Service was a joint initiative of the Friends of RSL, the Rainbow Historical Society, and Rainbow P-12 College, with around 100 people in attendance.
Peter Ralph, a member of the Friends of RSL, said:
“It went really well,” he said.
“ I find it a bit hard to judge the crowd, but I would say there were probably not far short of 100 people there, with quite a representation of very young people.
“As well as the ones who had done the research work on the fallen soldiers.”
Mr Ralph said the service followed the traditional elements of Anzac Day, including the bugler and the recitation of ‘Lest We Forget.’
It also placed special focus on honouring 19 men from the local area who lost their lives during World War II.
“The main purpose of the Dawn Service was to have a tribute to the 19 men who had fallen from the area around here in 1939–1945 because it was the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II,” Mr Ralph said.
“And as the sun came up, it added to the atmosphere.
“It was quite a moving occasion, really.”
After the ceremony, attendees gathered for a light breakfast of soup, coffee, and bread and jam in the supper room.
Mr Ralph said feedback from the community was overwhelmingly positive.
“The feedback from people afterwards was just really appreciated,” he said.
As part of the commemorations, four booklets were prepared, featuring research by students from Rainbow P-12 College.
Each booklet contained a photograph and a story of the fallen soldiers.
“Each of the men had a candle-a battery-operated one, not one that blew out in the wind—placed in front of their picture by the students.
One student even visited from Melbourne, as two of the men were his uncles.
“As a little account of each man’s life was read out, the student then walked out in front of the picture, put the candle in front of it, and moved back to the general area,” Mr Ralph said.
The leading service later in the morning attracted another large crowd, who gathered at the cenotaph on Federal Street for a march around the garden area, followed by a service at the Mecca Hall.
Guest speaker Ryan Reffler shared his personal reflections on the devastating effects of war, drawing on his experiences in Afghanistan.
“His main message was really how dreadful the war situation is, and particularly in the circumstances that he was involved in,” Mr Ralph said.
“He recalled one episode in Afghanistan that was quite harrowing for his group and involved the rescue of another group being under fire pretty much all the time from the late evening through the dark.
“Even though they all survived, he made the point that it was so harrowing for one fellow, who then took his own life not all that long later, like 12 months later.
“His point, and he got it across very well, was that the effects of war are dreadful, certainly for those who lose their lives on the battlefield, but also for those who return.”
Mr Ralph praised the message given by the guest speaker.
“We’ve got to be mindful of that too these days and have thoughts for those people who are suffering still, which I thought was a very powerful message,” he said.
The day provided a poignant opportunity for the Rainbow community to come together to remember, reflect, and honour those who served.
