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A MUSICAL VOYAGE - Royal Australian Navy

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- 131 –<br />

We arrived at Anzac Cove at around 0240. The buses stopped short of the cove, and we<br />

were informed that this was as far as the buses were going. There were too many people to<br />

go any further, and that a satellite picture had shown more than 15,000 people were in<br />

attendance already.<br />

The first image I saw (after getting off the bus) was a huge mass of bodies, lying and<br />

standing every where, dancing, cheering singing. The massive TV screens with the<br />

<strong>Australian</strong> Flag on them and a DJ playing really loud Aussie music. The vibe was so<br />

awesome. I was not nervous; this just made me want to get up in front of the 15,000 people<br />

(and the whole world) and show them what I could do. I just wanted to play with such<br />

honour on this extremely important day - ANZAC DAY!!<br />

The funny thing is the day before I was really nervous, Lieutenant Cottier had asked me<br />

how I was feeling about it all and I said “to tell you the truth sir I’m petrified!! He said<br />

“you’ll be right…I have total faith in you……”<br />

Some how I seemed to absorb the positive vibe and the excitement from the crowd, which<br />

gave me the courage I needed. So the service began. It was cold and really windy, the<br />

ropes were banging vigorously against the flagpoles and the dawn began to break. The<br />

waves were crashing behind us, and the blue glow of the sun began to highlight the<br />

Gallipoli ridges and the sphinx. At that point the snipers came into view. They were<br />

everywhere; on the ridges, the roads and in amongst the scrub.<br />

Before going on the trip I was concerned something bad was going to happen due to the<br />

media coverage, which had been so intense regarding terrorism. People had been advised<br />

not to attend the Gallipoli service and here I was a lone bugler standing out the front, a<br />

perfect target. However to this point nothing had happened. There were reports that there<br />

were more military personnel on the Gallipoli Peninsula on Anzac Day 2004, than in 1915<br />

when the battle occurred; so we were very safe.<br />

My time came and I was to leave the band and mount the Bugler’s Box. By this stage my<br />

hands were freezing and blue, and not much feeling in them at all. (and, I had three layers<br />

of thermals on as well as long-johns!! Lucky for them or I would have been frozen). I was<br />

just glad the bugle didn’t have any valves. I may not have had enough movement in my<br />

fingers to press them down. I put my cornet down and adjusted my uniform, rubbed my<br />

hands vigorously to get the blood flowing and said to my self “This is it!!”<br />

This is what I had come to do, and I was so pumped to do it. I walked behind the monument<br />

wall and mounted the box, carefully, trying not to be blown off by the wind. I came into<br />

position and waited for the moment to come. I was finally there. Standing on the Bugle Box<br />

and waiting to play the Last Post and Reveille. It seemed to take forever for this day to<br />

come.<br />

I was so proud to be standing in front of the whole world, so honoured to have been chosen<br />

to play the bugle at the most important service on ANZAC DAY. I kept thinking how lucky I<br />

was - a girl from a small country town in Victoria, chosen to play the bugle at Anzac Cove,<br />

Gallipoli. An opportunity I had only dreamed of since joining the <strong>Navy</strong>.<br />

The ode was read, I began to play, praying to god that there were no glitches. It was a<br />

spine tingling experience; so much emotion came over me. The Last Post was over. I could<br />

see tears flowing from people in the crowd. The sombre mood and the goose bumps began<br />

to rise. I began to count to 120 (for the two minutes silence) when just before I got to 120<br />

some idiot in the crowd blew a toy trumpet. They just couldn’t help themselves.<br />

Inconsiderate person!! It startled me a little, but thankfully didn’t upset my performance.<br />

I then brought the bugle up once again and played The Army Reveille. Being a <strong>Navy</strong> Bugler I<br />

had never performed this call before, and so again prayed there would be no slips. All calls<br />

went perfectly. I was so happy and was still really pumped. The cheer from the crowd<br />

afterward was amazing. Once completed I remember thinking “I’m still alive, I didn’t get<br />

snipered, or blown up.” I was very happy.<br />

<strong>Royal</strong> <strong>Australian</strong> <strong>Navy</strong> Band: A Musical Voyage

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