Amid a haze of low lying smoke, blown over Port Stephens from bushfires burning in the north, Tanilba Bay residents young and old turned out to the town's newly refurbished war memorial on Monday to commemorate Remembrance Day.
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The service at Tanilba Bay RSL Sports Club drew a strong crowd made up with students from Tanilba Bay and Salt Ash public schools, members of Marine Rescue Lemon Tree Passage, Rural Fire Service, Port Stephens police officers, RAAF Base Williamtown personnel, ex-servicemen and women and Tilli residents.
Tanilba Bay RSL Sub-Branch president Paul Carleton said he was happy with the turnout, particularly with it falling on a weekday this year.
"The benefit of having a service on a weekday is that so many school children take part," he said.
In closing Monday's ceremony, Mr Carleton spoke about the works done to upgrade the war memorial and to install a memorial wall for the peninsula's diggers outside the front entrance to the sports club.
He said further works were planned for the war memorial which included the addition of hedges, trees, Flander's poppies and a World War II bronze plaque.
The sub-branch's hope is to install two obelisks either side of the war memorial. One would be to memorialised Vietnam Veterans and the other for Afghanistan and Iraq diggers.
"The hope is for the war memorial to become a bit of a feature on the peninsula."
Sergeant Marty Menard from the Canadian Air Force and his wife Charmaine also turned out to Monday's Remembrance Day service, which marked the 101st anniversary of the signing of the armistice which ended World War I.
The pair moved to the Tilligerry Peninsula from Canada in October. Sgt Menard is now working at Williamtown.
"It was a nice service," Sgt Menard said. "It was very similar to what we have in Canada."
Mrs Menard said Remembrance Day was a statutory holiday in Canada.
"It's the equivalent of what Anzac Day is to Australians," she explained.
Elsewhere in Port Stephens, Remembrance Day services were held in Nelson Bay, Raymond Terrace, Medowie and Karuah.
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