Echoes of history at service

A cool, crisp morning welcomed walkers up the bush track of Mt Clarence on Sunday.

Attendees to the Padre White Sunday re-enactment at the Padre White Lookout in Albany were greeted by the shining sun and a peaceful mist blanketing King George Sound.

It was easy to picture a similar scene just over 100 years ago with the sun warming the green hills, the town stirring to the unknown consequences of war and the ships leaving the harbour with the wind at their backs.

Several ships were anchored in King George Sound, and though they were industrial ships, for many they were symbolic of the Anzac convoy that left Albany in 1914.

Neville Shearer said the ships in the harbour took him back in time.

"It was quite moving, actually, and it was appropriate the three ships were out there, even though they had nothing to do with it," he said. "It was both a reflective and emotional experience."

As St. John's Anglican Church's Father Edward Argyle stood on the granite rock at the top of Mt Clarence and asked the parish for a moment of silence to reflect on the convoy that left for World War I, it transported the congregation back to the first dawn service led by Padre Ernest White in 1930.

Joan Austin said the view from the top was breathtaking and the ceremony was important to her.

"It was very moving and I'm so proud to have actually made it up the hill. I never get tired of that scenery at the top," Mrs Austin said.

Fr Argyle reminded parishioners why they were there - that it was about more than honour, it was a day to reflect on the cost of war and the sacrifice of soldiers.

The crowd of more than 60 people listened to the ode and let the words of "lest we forget" echo across the waves.

The hike up the bush walk followed the dawn church service, where Fr Argyle spoke of Padre White's story, and his mission to comfort and encourage the men he shared the trenches with during the war as part of the Perth-based 44th Battalion in the Australian Imperial Force.

He said Padre White started the dawn service because he recognised a continuing need to comfort those who had returned from the war and the loved ones of those who did not return.

Jules Austin said he felt a strong sense of Australian pride during the re-enactment.

"Being a former National Serviceman in the North-South Korean War, I felt proud to be Australian," Mr Austin said.

"I was in another world when the ships were out there."