Soldiers from Australian Army’s 51st Battalion, Far North Queensland Regiment will be marching at the dawn and morning services as usual, but all services will have new aspects including Indigenous musicians and young cadets.

Warrant Officer Hagar Quirke said the catafalque party (at the guard) at Mount Isa’s ceremony at the Cenotaph will have cadets as young as 14.

“At the moment we have a small unit and we can’t have soldiers everywhere,” Warrant Officer Quirke said.

“It’s a reality check for some people to see young kids holding inert weapons, but we must remember that some of the soldiers who fought in those French battlefields were 14 years old.”

Local Kalkadoon people will take part in both the dawn service and the 10am service in Mount Isa, with smoking ceremonies and didgeridoos as soldiers are marched onto the memorial.

“We’re trying to include the community as much as possible and have that traditional music as a reflection and thanks to Indigenous soldiers past and present,” WO Quirke said.

“The more we can get the community to be part of Anzac Day will mean the spirit of Anzac is passed on through generations and is kept alive,” he said.

Major Jeremy Barraclough agreed that our services need to be inclusive to honour all fallen soldiers.

“It’s recognising all of our soldiers that took part in conflicts, past and present, and that’s exactly why we play all the anthems including the Australian and the New Zealand National Anthems,” Major Barraclough said.

As part of Cloncurry’s service there will be an inaugural cricket match for Private James Henry Scott.

Scott was born in Cloncurry and joined the 9^th battalion of the first AIF on August 31, 1914. He was killed on April 25, 1915 at Gallipoli.

Major Barraclough will take some of the team to Normanton and Karumba to take part in the dawn service at Karumba and the morning service in Normanton.

Full details of Anzac Day services in the north west region are here.