Wangaratta police are inviting the wider local community to join them in what’s set to be one of the most powerful and significant National Police Remembrance Day services held to date.
The ceremony, set to be held at the Wangaratta Racecourse Oaks Room on Monday at 9:30am, will honour all those who have given their lives in the blue uniform of Victoria Police protecting their local communities.
A month has passed since the loss of on-duty policemen Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson and Senior Constable Vadim de-Waart Hottart near Porepunkah on 26 August.
Both policemen were given full police honours in emotional funerals at the Victoria Police Academy in front of thousands, having had a profound impact on their community.
Wangaratta police Acting Inspector Mick Drew said the event was significant to the local force every year, but this year’s service would be close to the community’s heart.
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“With recent events still very fresh in our minds, the opportunity to pay tribute to our fallen colleagues and their families is timely, takes on special significance,” he said.
“This is a significant event every year and is a chance for all police and the local community to reflect on the service and sacrifice that police members have made locally, nationally and internationally (New Zealand) whilst serving their communities.”
There will be a small contingent for an honour guard who will do a march during the ceremony.
Victoria Police senior command including Acting Assistant Commissioner Karen Nyholm will be in attendance along with representatives from other emergency services including Ambulance Victoria, FRV and VICSES, government departments, council and other key local stakeholders.
Secretary of the Police Association Victoria, Wayne Gatt, said this year’s police remembrance day will hold added significance for thousands more colleagues and a heartbroken community.
“The loss of Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson and Senior Constable Vadim de Waart-Hottart remains raw and overwhelming,” he said.
“It reminds us of the spectre of self-sacrifice that shadows every police officer and every police family, whenever a member puts on the uniform, sets foot into the unknown in pursuit of justice or puts themselves between good and evil in the protection of those who rely on them.”
Mr Gatt said 178 police have given their lives in service to the community in Victoria Police’s history, but on police remembrance day we pay tribute to the people behind the uniform they represented with courage, care and compassion.
“People who loved and were loved and whose loss is a burden shouldered by those they left behind,” he said.
“We hold their memory dear and their families, friends and colleagues in our thoughts every day, but even more so on dedicated days of reflection like Police Remembrance Day.”
The Blue Ribbon Foundation also holds Victoria's Blue Ribbon Day on the same date and will coincide with the Wangaratta Police Remembrance Day service.
