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Hundreds or maybe even thousands, we will never know, stood on their front driveways around Shepparton and Mooroopna in makeshift observances for Anzac Day.
As the skies began to lighten with the gathering dawn, families and couples "stood-to" in remembering the fallen who had given up their lives in defence of their country.
With the coronavirus pandemic threatening the country, and government prohibiting public gatherings, private individuals took to the streets in their own informal recognition of Anzac Day on Saturday morning.
Lanterns made from plastic milk bottles, adorned with Anzac insignia, populated the median strips.
In Waranga Dve, Kialla Lakes, one group of six neighbours stood at attention just before 6 am, to remember.
Further down the street, someone was broadcasting the Last Post and Reveille bugle calls and the distinctive sounds echoed across the estate in the still, morning air.
“Covid 19 was not going to stop Anzac Day,” resident Brendan Kenna said.
His father, Kevin Kenna, served with the Royal Australian Air Force in the Pacific, during World War II.
Brendan and his family have always observed the day by attending the usual public ceremony in Shepparton, but this year's public meeting restrictions presented him with a dilemma.
While they were wrestling with the problem they discovered the idea of the driveway ceremony, and simultaneously, got a message from neighbour Sharon Lindsay suggesting they co-ordinate something.
So on Saturday morning, the neighbours simultaneously lined the street outside their houses, while Brendan read The Ode, and Sharon recited the Lord’s prayer.
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