SILENCE fell over Civic Park as the community remembered the thousands of Australian soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice.
On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, a minute's silence on Remembrance Day marked the anniversary of the signing of the peace agreement that ended World War I.
Standing beside the granite column war memorial in Civic Park, City of Newcastle RSL sub-branch president Ken Fayle said it was a day to remember the battles fought by the Anzacs in the western deserts of Palestine, especially the charge of Beersheba.
"We must remember to commemorate those who have gone before us," he said.
"We must always give the message that their sacrifice has ensured our democratic principles and freedoms."
The Anglican Dean of Newcastle Katherine Bowyer offered a prayer, as many stepped forward to pay their respects and lay a wreath.
Red poppies adorned the lapels of onlookers, symbolising the armistice with the same flower that bloomed on the battlefields after four years of bloody conflict.
Assistant Senior ADF Officer Group Captain Nicholas Dyce-McGowan OAM said it was a day devoted to those who have served, those who have fought and those who have fallen in the pursuit of peace and freedom.
"As we stand here joined in reflection, it's important to remember not just the battles won and lost, but the human cost that those battles entail," he said.
"War in its darkest essence is marked by numbers, dates, years, figures, but more profoundly it is marked by lives.
"By the end of WWI, nearly 62,000 Australians had made the ultimate sacrifice, and another 152,000 were wounded."
Mr Dyce-McGowan said those losses should not be counted as mere statistics but as stories of courage, perseverance and sacrifice.
"First, let us remember the fallen, the men and women who never returned home," he said.
"Each life lost in war is a life cut short, potential unfulfilled, a void forever left in the fabric of their families and communities.
"They are our fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, each of them made the ultimate sacrifice, giving up their present for the future they believed in."
The commemoration was also an opportunity to remember those who did return home, the veterans who carry the physical and emotional scars of war.
Mr Dyce-McGowan said it was also important to consider the families and loved ones of those who served.
"The losses do not end on the battlefield, the empty seat at the table, the missed milestone, the yearning for a father's advice or a mother's hug, these are everyday sacrifices borne by families," he said.
"As we count these losses, let us stand by them, extending our compassion and gratitude for the burdens they have carried for us all."
More than 60,000 Australians died in the Great War in Europe.
Newcastle Grammar School captains Molly Boyle and Shanuk Wickremarachy read the poem Why Wear A Poppy as the catafalque party stood with their heads bowed around the cenotaph.
The Ode of Remembrance was recited before bugler Corporal Justin Williams sounded the Last Post, which rang out across Civic Park.
City of Newcastle RSL sub-branch member Graeme Reynolds said he felt the tradition of Remembrance Day should be held for generations to come.
"We are so lucky to have the freedoms that we have here unlike what other countries are going through now in turmoil and war strife," he said.
"It's such an honour to be in this lucky country that we have, to enjoy those freedoms, and we should never, ever take it for granted."
