The cancellation of two Anzac Day events in the Queensland town of Bargara, east of Bundaberg, has been described as "un-Australian" by an organiser of the annual activities.
The Bargara Anzac Day Dawn Service has attracted 15,000 people annually since it began almost 30 years ago, but organiser Greg Barnes said the local Bundaberg RSL sub-branch had withdrawn support for the two-up game and gunfire breakfast that traditionally followed the service.
Mr Barnes said the decision was "very distasteful".
"To have these events is incredibly vital. The veterans need support and that support has to come from the community," he said.
"I had a gentleman in his 80s that's been coming to the event ever since the first one back in 1997.
"He came to me and he broke down in tears. He said he just cannot believe the RSL could do this on our most solid day of commemoration."
In Queensland, licensed premises other than RSLs and service clubs required written permission from an RSL sub-branch to conduct two-up games on their premises.
An RSL Queensland spokesperson said the Bundaberg RSL sub-branch remained steadfast in its support for local veterans and the community in commemorating Anzac Day and said the historical ties to two-up had a significant meaning to the defence community.
It said the Bundaberg RSL sub-branch was unable to support applications for extended trading hours for events that were not organised in partnership with the sub-branch, but was currently working with relevant parties to host games of two-up this year in line with state legislation.
But what is two-up?
The game of two-up is believed to have originated prior to World War I, but it became popular in the trenches where diggers used it as a way of passing time.
Max Francis is a fourth-generation veteran who joined the navy when he was 16 and served for more than 20 years, including multiple deployments to the Middle East.
He said in the previous century, two-up had allowed servicemen an "escape from the horrors of trench warfare".
"This was an important game in the time when they didn't have any entertainment. They didn't have guitars or pianos or even a deck of cards on the beaches of Gallipoli," Mr Francis said.
"It was a simple set-up, just a piece of wood and two coins that are flipped up in the air where everyone could see.
"An outcome would be either two heads or two tails and people could place a bet on the outcome.
"But there didn't necessarily have to be money involved. It was just a way of switching off and amusing yourself for a few hours to relieve the boredom."
Mr Francis said two-up had been a part of military tradition as long as he could remember.
"From my earliest recollections of Anzac Day, with my father and grandfather, I remember men standing around, with small piece of wood and a fashioned handle and just tossing coins in the air," he said.
"They were yelling and yahooing and I look back at it as a bit of Aussie larrikinism.
"It was just mates playing together and such a simple moment that I think meant a lot to everyone there."
He said although times and even the rules had changed, playing two-up was a way of keeping the Anzac spirit alive.
"In modern times, they've introduced a third coin so that there's a result every throw, but the gist remains the same," Mr Francis said.
"For me as a veteran it's all part of the Anzac spirit and that needs to be fed, needs to be nurtured to keep it alive.
"The Anzac spirit, the slouch hat of the diggers, the zinc on the nose, it's all part of the Aussie spirit and it's all part of tradition."
Hopes two-up can continue
Mr Barnes said he hoped the situation could be resolved to allow the community a game of two-up this Anzac Day.
"It's a time when veterans do get to talk about their experiences and get that community support, so it's such a vital event," he said.
"We need to resolve this rubbish and get on with what's important — looking after our veterans and instilling that Anzac spirit in our kids."
