This is her speech:

Returned and active service men and women  

Robert E. Lee, the Confederate General of the American Civil War, once wrote: “A nation which does not remember what it was yesterday, does not know where it is today.”

Today, 100 years ago, at this very moment, soldiers of the Australian Army Corps Third Division were fighting their way through the streets of the French village of Villers-Bretonneox. In this village, on the third anniversary of ANZAC Day, the Australians stopped and repulsed the German Army’s last great attempt to break the Allies. This battle was the crucial turning point that would eventuate in Allied victory, and the end of the Great War.

Villers-Bretonneox was a great victory for the ANZACs. However, on the very same day, only three years earlier, the brothers, sons and fathers of Australia had fought and died in the futility and disappointment of Gallipoli. ANZAC Day and its spirit of selfless courage, resilience and perseverance had been born. 

Over the following three years from 1915-1918 our men endured death, suffering, disease and starvation on the Western Front, yet the ANZAC spirit was un-diminished.

As the Australians marched towards Villers-Bretonneox in April 1918, Charles Bean, the Australian War Historian, recounted that “The effect of this spirit upon the French villagers was striking…They cried “Nos Australiens - Our Australians”, and told us that “now the Australians had arrived, they would not depart.”

In the midst of retreating defeated British troops, the Australians moved forward to face the battle, and the French villagers, uplifted by the ANZAC spirit, turned around and followed the Australians back to their homes. On the eve of ANZAC Day in 1918, our men drew inspiration from the spirit of ANZAC to launch a ferocious counter-attack at night which terminated the German Offensive and set the course for victory in the days to follow. The men of the Third Division fought for their mates, for Australia and for the ANZAC spirit.

The defeat of Gallipoli and the victory at Villers-Bretonneux are Australian hallmarks of the Great War that represent two sides of the same coin. They represent the price of war and of peace, and the duality of ANZAC Day as one of remembrance and one of celebration. 

ANZAC Day reminds us of the debilitating loss of life and the horrific nature of war so that we may treasure, and defend at all costs, the peace, freedom and justice we have today, because of the ultimate sacrifices made by our fellow Australians who gave their lives and their future for us.

Regardless of victory or defeat, we are proud to commemorate battles such as Tobruk in North Africa, Kapyong in Korea, Long Tan in Vietnam and the Uruzgan Province in Afghanistan – the many places throughout our world in the last 100 years where the spirit of ANZAC has shone in the defence of human dignity and freedom. 

We live in troubling times of political instability, foreign conflicts and prolific attacks on human rights. We live in a world divided by ethnicity, religion, culture and belief. There is no question that our future is uncertain, and that we will face great challenges in the years ahead. But as our fellow Australians have done before us, we will face these challenges together.

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The issues of today are no worse than those faced by our nation in years past. However, there is something that carries us as a nation through hardship and spurs us across the battlefield time, and time again. It is the unifying spirit of ANZAC. Today, and every ANZAC Day, is testimony to this spirit. In times of difficulty, the ANZAC spirit unites all Australians regardless of race, wealth, job or religion because it is the defining quality of the identity that we all share.

Through remembering this sacrifice each year we are reminded of how today we live in a ‘lucky country’ that was not forged from luck, but forged in the first battles of WW1 by a nation that was only 13 years old. Forged by selfless Australians who defied all odds to come together and fight for us - the Australians of today and tomorrow. A nation borne in a baptism of gunfire that emerged with a proud identity built on ANZAC Day and the ANZAC spirit. Each war that has been fought, each struggle that has been faced throughout the last century, has created times of peace and prosperity for our nation that we greatly appreciate, and cherish.

We must celebrate the qualities and spirit of the service men and women in our presence here today, and those that are being represented by relatives in their place. Your selfless service, your willingness to pay the ultimate sacrifice on our behalf, is greatly appreciated and we honor you for everything you have done for us.

Today, and every ANZAC Day, I march for my grandfather. My grandfather served in the Royal Australian Navy during WW2. He died when I was very young from a lung cancer attributed to his service in anti-submarine operations. I never knew him. I have no memories of the time we spent together, of his face or his smile. However, his spirit and legacy lives on and I proudly wear his medals today in remembrance and commemoration of him. 

Although I never knew him, I remember him.

As of last year, less than 19,000 veterans remained of the nearly one million Australians who served and sacrificed in WW2 between 1939 and 1945. One day, soon, regrettably, there will be no WW2 veterans left at all. No one lives forever, but our spirit, our ideals and our legacy will. On ANZAC Day we are reminded that the brave Australians who have fallen in all conflicts will never die because their spirit, the ANZAC spirit, lives on.

I call to the young people here today, and across our nation to not forget the price of peace that others have paid for us. We must not take for granted the sacrifices made for our lives, our opportunities and our future. Soon the responsibility of remembrance and the continuation of this legacy will rest upon our shoulders. Is this such a heavy burden to bear? I am often saddened by the ambivalence that some members of my generation hold towards ANZAC Day. However, today, on this 100 year anniversary of the end of WW1, I am encouraged and heartened to see so many young people here to march, to listen and to learn. 

On the street of Rue Victoria in the village of Villers-Bretonneux, there is a primary school that will not forget.  A sign in the classroom still reads, decades later, after the passing of countless generations, “Do Not Forget Australia”.

So I ask of you, the young Australians present here today. 

Will we forget?

Will we let the chain of the ANZAC spirit that links the generations of our nation be neglected and broken?

Will we allow time to wipe away the memory of the sacrifices of our fellow Australians?

In another 100 years, once I have lived, died and passed on through this world, I would hope that the sacrifices of my generation would be remembered and celebrated. 

I am certain that every Australian who has served for our country would be proud to be here today, to see and to know that regardless of whether it is 100, 50 or 10 years on from when they served, that they have not been forgotten.

As General Robert E Lee inferred in the quote that began this speech:

We must never forget that, by remembering and celebrating our past, we value our present and have hope for our future. 

Lest we forget. 

Elizabeth Pike