WITH the centenary of the Gallipoli landings just six weeks away, 500 places are still available to Australians to attend the commemorative dawn service at Anzac Cove.
Because of the intense international interest in the abortive Dardanelles campaign, the total number of places for Australia and New Zealand was strictly limited to 10,500, under an agreement with the Turkish government.
Nearly 40,000 Australian residents registered a year ago for the national ballot to distribute 3862 double passes.
The remainder of the places were allocated to the official Australian delegation and a number of widows and other relatives of soldiers who fought there.
Now, the final 250 double passes — allocated to people who were in the ballot but who cannot make the journey — are being offered progressively to 30,000 people still on the waiting list.
The Department of Veterans’ Affairs is offering them to those who have confirmed airfares and accommodation in Turkey and who missed out in the ballot.
In what has turned out to be an exhaustive process, that will be the seventh round of ticket offers.
The minister responsible for the centenary, Michael Ronaldson, urged those who received an offer and who did not want to accept it to respond quickly so that the tickets could be given to those next in line. Those selected must make their bookings and provide confirmation of their travel arrangements to ensure they could get on to tours and flights to and from Turkey in time for Anzac Day, he said.
Senator Ronaldson suggested that those who missed out on attendance passes for April 25 could visit Gallipoli on August 6 for the Battle of Lone Pine centenary commemoration service.
Lone Pine was the site of some of the fiercest fighting of the Gallipoli campaign.
“Australians may also consider attending another dawn service in Australia or overseas or watch the television broadcast of the Gallipoli and Villers-Bretonneux services,” Senator Ronaldson said.
Source: theaustralian.com.au