"Canberra honours memory of ANZAC", a heading featured on page one of The Canberra Times, this day, 56 years ago. The full report followed on page three.
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An estimated 8000 people, 2000 less than the previous year, attended Canberra's official Anzac Day commemoration service at the Stone of Remembrance in the grounds of the Australian War Memorial. Even the marchers' ranks had thinned. Seven hundred ex-servicemen and women, 200 less than the previous year, took part in the parade.
Officials blamed the bleak wintry weather for the small crowd. Light drizzle which began to fall during the ceremony turned to heavy rain before the service finished. It was the first time that sections of the dawn service were floodlit for filming. Archdeacon F.M. Hill conducted the service.
Music was provided by the Canberra Choral Society and the Royal Military College Band. Diplomats from many Commonwealth countries which fought beside the Anzacs in both wars attended the service. Cadets and staff of the college had paraded earlier to lay wreaths on tablets at the parade ground.
