NURSING weary heads and celebrating or commiserating rounds of Two Up, many of you may have had a sluggish return to work on Friday after one of our nation's most significant and poignant days - Anzac Day.
Beyond the patriotic pride of Australia Day, Anzac Day holds a different kind of fervour. It signifies a different element of the Aussie spirit. It not only celebrates our grit, our mate-ship, our resilience and our honour, but also the sacrifices of those that came before us.
We have all stood at dawn services, listened to the bugle and felt chills as those words ring out; 'we will remember them'.
We are a proud nation - and deservedly so. So when I saw the news headlines about the French nationals, Damien Guerot and Silas Despreaux, who confronted the Bondi Junction attacker during his stabbing rampage I couldn't help but feel a similar sense of admiration for the pair.
They may not be Australians, but they deserve to be classed as honourary Aussies for their bravery.
That's what we're about; standing up for what is right, tackling bullies and fighting for the underdog.
When I heard that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had chosen to approve Mr Guerot's visa application for his act of bravery, I was pleased. A well deserved honour for someone who seems to get what this nation stands for - or should stand for. We band together.
While controversial, Ned Kelly is a similar Aussie who still gains a certain respect from Australians for his defiance against corrupt authority. Even now, we see people marching against problematic political agendas, often at their own cost and unfortunately for the price of public ridicule or dismissal.
When I joined the throng of journalists at Mackay on Monday morning to interview Mr Albanese, I stopped for a moment to speak with some of the people I have met from the Save Eungella group. They are fighting for something we can all empathise with - they're fighting for their home.
Like the diggers we remember on Anzac Day, who took to the trenches and gave their lives for their home, these people are fighting for the lives, businesses, environment and community they hold dear. It's something to be admired.
While they may not be brandishing bayonets, they substitute weapons with knowledge, their own research and their placards.
Whether or not you agree with the Pioneer-Burdekin pumped hydro proposal, you cannot deny that the residents of the wider Eungella region possess the same Aussie battler spirit that we all celebrated this morning.
We often look back at history and see the outliers, the rebels, the fighters - the defiant few who stood up for what they believed in - and feel a swell of pride.
We think 'I would have liked to stand with them' or 'that would have been me'. But when push comes to shove, do we all stand? I hope that spirit continues through. I hope we have not lost that fight.
I saw many resign to the oppressive rules put upon us during a certain pandemic some years ago. While it may seem like another lifetime, there are still many who are without jobs, homes or have been shunned by loved ones because they stood by their own values or autonomy.
Again, whether you agree or not, it is that Aussie spirit that makes me damn proud to be an Australian. That is what I celebrated this Anzac Day - the 'true blue' way.
