Mr Johnston devised a two-mirror system,using mathematical calculations to determine their angles. A 70-centimetre pillar was built on the Shrine's upper walkway,and on that pillar sits the first mirror.
The sun shines on the mirror,which directs the sunlight up onto a second mirror fixed into the Shrine's outer aperture.
The second mirror deflects the beam down through the Shrine's inner-wall aperture and onto the stone. And so,once again,the light shines on the stone at 11am,on the 11th day of the 11th month.
For the past 45 years,some time in early November,Mr Johnston and the team have climbed 35 metres to the top of the Shrine to ensure the mirror on the pillar is correctly angled. It can shift because the basalt paving slabs it's built on are set in bitumen,which can move with heat.
Even with some semblance of normality returning to Melbourne,Remembrance Day will be different this year.
The Poppy Appeal – one of the RSL's two main annual fundraisers that help to finance the organisation's veteran services – has shifted online,as face-to-face sales in metropolitan Melbourne were only permitted from Sunday.
RSL Victoria president Rob Webster said the organisation hasn't had to cut services this year,but said it will have to be"very careful"next year to make sure it is living within its budget.
Dr Webster encouraged Victorians to"remember to remember"in their own ways this year.
"Most of us,in some way or another,have a relative or a forebear who served and it's just to remember them,just to reflect on them,whether it's while going for a walk or sitting in your lounge room."
Usually,about 4000 people attend the service at the Shrine on November 11,including several thousand students.
On Wednesday,only the Governor of Victoria and a member of the Shrine Guard will attend in person,to lay a wreath in the sanctuary.
Several Australian Defence Force members will be on the lower forecourt to fire the gun to mark the beginning and end of the minute's silence.
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"Most of the service will be pre-recorded and will run on the Shrine website and RSL Facebook page,"Dr Webster said.
State Opposition Leader Michael O'Brien has called for restrictions to be relaxed for military veterans gathering to mark Remembrance Day.
Premier Daniel Andrews said on Tuesday that COVID-19 risks meant services would not be able to go ahead as usual,noting 2020 was"not an ordinary year".
Mr Andrews said events on the"sacred day"could not be regulated in the same way as a cafe or restaurant."I think everybody is upset to think that we can't honour the service and sacrifice of so many fellow Victorians in that normal way,"he said.
"To march down the forecourt of the Shrine every year,it's a great honour and a privilege. And I'd like nothing more than to be there,but this is not an ordinary year ... on Anzac Day,we found new and innovative ways to honour and respect the sacrifice of so many and we will do that tomorrow."
On Remembrance Day,Mr Johnston and his colleagues stand in a room inside the Shrine roof and watch the light go into the inner aperture,but can't see the stone.
Mr Johnston,whose four uncles served in either World War I or II,considers it a community service.
"It's been a labour of love over the years,"he said.
"I'm quite sure it will continue,and I intend to keep doing it until I can't."
The Poppy Appeal is atpoppyappeal.com.auFor more information about the Remembrance Day live-stream,go toshrine.org.au/remembrance-day-2020
WithSean Tarek Goodwin
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