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Rain held off long enough for Orange to commemorate servicemen and women during Tuesday’s Anzac Day march and morning service.
The city’s RSL Sub-branch believed it was one of the biggest services organised yet.
It the fifth service Orange’s Benjamin Johnston has attended after serving in East Timor and Afghanistan.
“It’s fantastic to see so many people. It gets bigger every year, even with the threat of rain,” Mr Johnston said.
“It’s fantastic to see, it’s a good feeling, especially for us being recent serving personnel.”
Fellow East Timor veteran Russell Tyler said people weren’t just there to make up the numbers.
“Orange has such a strong community and it’s shown here,” Mr Tyler said.
“People wanted to be there, the people lining the streets looked genuine.
“It’s such a big thing, since Vietnam there wasn’t anything for 30 years.”
City of Orange RSL Sub-branch senior vice president Chris Colvin said rough estimates pegged the crowd between 8000 and 9000.
“We count them when we get down to the Cenotaph. It’s the biggest service we’ve had yet,” Mr Colvin said.
He said the crowd numbers gave the sub-branch faith the tradition of Anzac Day would continue.
Mr Colvin said during his talks with Orange high schools he emphasised to students they were the next custodians of the tradition.
He said there 2000 high school students who joined the march, with another 2000 primary school students.
Students participation in the march is about “distilling what the original Anzacs did,” Mr Colvin said.
The civic service isn’t just for the city’s older veterans, but those who have served in recent deployments including East Timor, Iraq and Afghanistan.
“They’re the legacy that we’ve got, if we don’t engage with the younger veterans, it won’t be as meaningful,” Mr Colvin said.
“The dawn service is our solemn service but the morning service is a civic commemoration.”
Orange Christian School student Hannah Harper marched on Tuesday, one of her uncles served in the defence of Darwin.
“It’s a little intimidating as there’s lots of people watching and you’re representing the school in a public way,” Miss Harper said.