SYDNEY: An estimated 4,000 members of the Sydney-Armenian community joined Homenetmen Australia's rekindled Marching Band, Scouts and Members on a march through Chatswood to commemorate the Centenary of the Armenian Genocide.









The march, which also honoured Australia's fallen ANZAC soldiers of the Gallipoli campaign, started at the Rose Memorial Garden in Chatswood with a moving ceremony. It continued along the closed-off Victoria Avenue and ended at the Armenian Apostolic Church on Macquarie Street, where a prayer service and speeches were observed before hundreds of purple Centenary balloons were released into the sky.



The march was covered by the Sydney Morning Herald, where organiser Hagop Jake Boghossian was quoted linking the history of Armenians and Australians during World War I: "After the Gallipoli campaign, when Allied troops returned back to the Palestine area, the Palestinian front, what occurs is that Anzacs see the atrocities, a lot of Armenians shot in front of them. The Anzacs were one of the first witnesses [of the genocide], and they started to make accounts of the events.

He added: "In fact, there was an orphanage opened in 1922 by an Australian father, opened in Lebanon, in Antelias. One thousand and seven hundred Armenian orphans were there, looked after by Australians."





The Homenetmen Australia march ended a massive month of events in Sydney and Melbourne dedicated to the Centenary of the Armenian Genocide, which included:

1. March 22nd: The Armenian Festival at Darling Harbour, which attracted over 12,000 people;
2. April 19th: Khatchkar Unveiling at Galstaun College;
3. April 24th: Armenian Genocide Protest in Sydney, with over 1,500 in attendance;
4. April 24th: Armenian Genocide Protest in Melbourne, with over 500 in attendance;
5. April 24th: National Armenian Genocide Commemoration Evening featuring Geoffrey Robertson, with over 2,200 in attendance; and
6. April 24th: Melbourne Armenian Genocide Commemoration Evening featuring Nikki Marczak, with over 1,000 in attendance.