‘Avenue of Remembrance’: Town honours veterans with powerful tribute

AS Australia paused on Tuesday to mark Remembrance Day, the streets of Leeton stood as a solemn and striking tribute, lined with banners of honour featuring the faces of local men and women who served their country.

In a moving display of gratitude and memory, the town’s CBD was transformed into an outdoor gallery of remembrance, with banners stretching along Pine Avenue and Kurrajong Avenue, honouring the lives, legacies and sacrifices of Leeton’s veterans.

Banners are also dotted along Brobenah Road and Wamoon Avenue, extending the tribute beyond the town centre.

The first set was unveiled for Remembrance Day in 2024, with additional banners completed in time for Anzac Day 2025, and a further set unveiled for this year’s commemorations.

Photo: Supplied

Photo: Supplied

The full collection pays tribute to those who served across multiple conflicts, including both World Wars, Vietnam and other deployments, with each banner featuring the portrait and service details of a local veteran.

The sepia and black-and-white photographs show young faces captured at the age they served — some smiling with confidence, others serious with determination.

The effect is deeply personal. Not distant history. Someone’s dad. Someone’s mum. Someone’s family story.

Photos: Supplied

As dusk falls, the tribute continues.

The town’s iconic water tower comes to life with projected imagery of veterans and wartime symbolism, turning the landmark into a softly glowing beacon of remembrance.

Photo: Supplied

Photo: Supplied

FACES OF SERVICE, STORIES OF SACRIFICE

The project was led by Fran Macdonald, Leeton Shire Council’s events officer, and funded in full through the Department of Veterans’ Affairs “Saluting Their Service” Commemorative Grant Program, with a project value of $6,600.

Dozens of local families contributed names, photographs and service records.

Support in sourcing and verifying details was provided by the Leeton RSL Sub Branch and the Leeton Family and Local History Society, who helped bring the faces behind the banners to light.

“It’s wonderful to see some of Leeton’s veterans who came home or worked at home now up on our street,” a spokesperson for the Sub Branch told The Junee Bulletin.

“We are so very proud of the work everyone has done, especially Fran.”

Photos: Supplied

The stories represented stretch across generations and service types — from decorated soldiers and prisoners of war to nurses, engineers and quiet contributors.

Some families shared photographs spanning multiple generations, while others honoured relatives whose stories had never been shared publicly.

The result is a tribute that reflects the full spectrum of service — its bravery, its hardship, and its enduring legacy within the Leeton community.

Photos: Supplied

REMEMBRANCE MADE VISIBLE AND GROWING

The banners have been mounted on long-standing poles that line Leeton’s main streets and are used year-round for civic displays.

The veterans’ banners, however, appear only on solemn national days of remembrance: Anzac Day and Remembrance Day.

Each pole features four banners, with the current display covering 48 veterans across 12 poles.

Council is now working to install an additional eight poles, which will allow the full collection of 80 veteran banners to be displayed together for the first time.

Photo: Supplied

In the meantime, all 80 are already being projected onto the town’s iconic water tower after dark — a powerful way to ensure every veteran is publicly recognised, even if not all can be displayed at street level just yet.

For many families, seeing their loved ones recognised in such a public and dignified way has been deeply moving.

In one particularly touching moment on Tuesday, the daughter of Captain Edward Winchester Levings OBE, one of the featured veterans, flew from New Zealand to view her father’s banner in person.

Photo: Supplied

In one particularly touching moment on Tuesday, the daughter of Captain Edward Winchester Levings OBE — one of the featured veterans — flew from New Zealand to view her father’s banner in person — a powerful reminder of how remembrance transcends borders and generations.

As Christmas approaches, the banners will soon be replaced by the town’s festive displays.

But for those who walked the streets this week — and those who travelled from afar — the legacy left behind by these banners will linger far longer than the flags themselves.