The ADCC is a not-for-profit organisation and raises funds primarily through badge sales to promote the Spirit of ANZAC through education and publicity. The charter of the Committee is to commemorate our Fallen Heroes and to honour our surviving veterans. The objects are:
— The recognition of the gallant courage displayed by the Australian sons and daughters in fighting for the preservation of li
berty and civilisation.�
— The relief, by way of donation, of aged war veterans and their widows including those suffering from dementia.�
— The commemoration of our Fallen and the acknowledgment of the suffering of our wounded.
— The conduct of patriotic ceremonies in every town in Queensland on ANZAC Day, the 25th day of April.�
— The encouragement of religious bodies to observe ANZAC Day by such religious service as each body shall decide.
— The care and upkeep of graves of ex-Service personnel whose death is not accepted as due to War Service by the Repatriation Commission. While this is an accurate quote from the constitution, how does it translate into deeds and who are the patriotic volunteer citizens behind this unique Australian organisation? The main activities of the Committee focus on:
— conducting the annual badge appeal with the support of the Queensland sub-branches of the Returned & Services League of Australia and other ex-Service organisations.
— promoting the Spirit of ANZAC through education and publicity, and providing subsidies and grants in accordance with the charter and objects. Behind the scenes, some 29 individual or corporate members comprise a General Committee. A minimum five-person Executive is elected each year to conduct the hands-on business of the organisation. At the Annual General Meeting, the General Committee performs a role similar to that of a Board of Directors; that is, it reviews the results of the Executive for the previous year and provides guidance for the next. All members are patriotic volunteers who perform their honorary tasks as an ongoing citizens’ gift of the people to the war veterans of Queensland. Membership is by invitation. Queensland’s unique ANZAC commemoration committee has been a proudly non-aligned citizens’ organisation since its inception in 1916. Today it continues to prosecute the original aims for a holy day of commemoration rather than another public holiday festival. It is a most successfully managed and effective business which has survived because it is keeping abreast of modern business practices and capitalising on society’s patriotic resurgence. The ADCC must endure because it will always represent the citizens’ gift of the people to Queensland’s war veterans. Our website - www.anzacday.org.au - is where you can find out about the ADCC logo, our Annual Badge Appeal or read a short history of the ANZAC Day Commemoration Committee.
