{"id":9978,"date":"2026-04-28T02:37:35","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T16:37:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bardonnews.com.au\/index.php\/2026\/04\/28\/the-april-26-show\/"},"modified":"2026-05-04T13:05:31","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T03:05:31","slug":"the-april-26-show","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bardonnews.com.au\/index.php\/2026\/04\/28\/the-april-26-show\/","title":{"rendered":"The April 26 Show"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Voices Across the World on Anzac Weekend<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

From the cliffs of Gallipoli to a super yacht in the Atlantic, the April 26 broadcast unfolded as it so often does \u2014 a patchwork of voices, stitched together by memory, distance and the quiet weight of Anzac weekend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gallipoli: Trying to Understand the Inexplicable<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Calling from the Gallipoli Peninsula, Angela Lathouras wasn\u2019t trying to retell history \u2014 she was trying to make sense of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Travelling with historians including Professor Sinan \u00d6zdemir from \u00c7anakkale University, she described the terrain as something that defies explanation until you see it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou just shake your head everywhere you go,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Standing at Anzac Cove and walking the ridgelines, she spoke about how small the battlefield really is \u2014 and how impossible it feels that so many fought and died in such a confined space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reading epitaphs in the cemeteries brought it home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAngel mark the spot, Mother.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWell done, Ted.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey\u2019re just\u2026 so moving,\u201d she said. \u201cYou could sob the whole time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It wasn\u2019t her first visit, but this time was different \u2014 less about tracing individual stories, more about understanding the broader picture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very hard to reconcile the beauty\u2026 with what happened there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Stadium, A City, A Moment<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

From Christchurch, Jason called with a different kind of milestone \u2014 the opening of Te Kaha Stadium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After 15 years without a major venue following the earthquakes, the city finally had its stadium back \u2014 and it was packed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFull house all weekend,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Super Rugby returned in force, but for him, the moment was bigger than sport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a big thing for Christchurch.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Closer to home, he also spoke about his son\u2019s school Anzac ceremony \u2014 run entirely by the students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was so proud of the little boys and girls.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keeping the Country Moving<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In southern New South Wales, Kelvin Baxter\u2019s world is measured in kilometres, crops and fuel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Running a fleet of trucks across Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria, he\u2019s spent decades moving grain, cotton and fertiliser \u2014 the quiet logistics behind Australian life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re quite busy,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s always something moving.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But rising costs \u2014 especially diesel \u2014 remain front of mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPeople talk about electric trucks\u2026 we\u2019re a long way from that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His Anzac Day, though, is about something else entirely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each year, he and a group of locals take restored WWII jeeps through Berrigan, Jerilderie and Finley, carrying veterans who can\u2019t march.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe load up the old diggers and lead the parade.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s something he\u2019s done for decades \u2014 a small act that keeps connection alive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

War, Medicine and Perspective<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In studio, hand surgeon and former umpire David Dilley offered a different lens on Gallipoli \u2014 the medical one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe planning was appalling,\u201d he said, referencing findings from the Dardanelles Commission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Basic supplies. Limited understanding. Conditions few had ever encountered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey had bandages\u2026 a bit of chloroform\u2026 and not much else.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He explained how World War I reshaped medicine \u2014 from plastic surgery to trauma care \u2014 driven by the scale and nature of injuries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was the first war where more died from enemy action than disease.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The conversation drifted easily between surgery, cricket and history \u2014 as it often does \u2014 grounded in experience rather than theory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Australians Abroad: A Different Kind of Move<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Wayne didn\u2019t just travel \u2014 he left.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Originally from Sydney\u2019s Northern Beaches, he and his partner now live in what is likely Tulum, trading rising costs at home for something simpler.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAustralia\u2019s getting dearer and dearer,\u201d he said. \u201cEverything costs more.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After years caravanning across Australia, they wanted a new kind of adventure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s two economies here,\u201d he said. \u201cThe tourist one\u2026 and the local one. We\u2019re trying to live the local.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The weather feels familiar \u2014 \u201clike North Queensland\u201d \u2014 but the lifestyle is still evolving. They\u2019ve bought a place, are settling into a community, and plan to explore more of the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Wayne, it\u2019s less about escape and more about perspective \u2014 seeing how life looks somewhere else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remembering, Questioning, Reflecting<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Emails filled the spaces between calls, adding context and contrast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A retired CSIRO ecologist pushed back on claims of widespread reef decline, arguing many remain \u201chealthy and actively growing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another listener described visiting war sites across France and Papua New Guinea, noting how strongly Australia\u2019s contribution is remembered overseas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn France, the gratitude is very evident,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Further reflections from listeners touched on family histories, lost relatives, and the long shadow of war \u2014 stories carried across generations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Japan to Borneo: Memory That Travels<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Calls from abroad reinforced how far those memories reach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Yokohama, Nan described the Commonwealth War Cemetery \u2014 where eucalyptus trees mark the Australian section among carefully tended gardens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Sandakan, historian Lynette Silver reflected on decades spent guiding families through the legacy of the Sandakan death marches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s nothing glorious about being a dead soldier,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her work continues to bring people back to those places \u2014 not for closure, but for understanding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n