Memorial Way No.4

In Memorial Way this week we look at The Gundagai War Memorial in country NSW. The information and photos have been provided by FFFAIF Committee member Graeme Hosken. Graeme also edits our DIGGER Magazine.

The Gundagai (NSW) War Memorial

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The Gundagai Memorial carries the names of 1133 men and women from the town and surrounding district. 

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World War I enlistments number 486 of whom 79 men paid the ultimate sacrifice (16.3%) . This is a remarkable contribution as the 1911 Census shows that the population of the town at that time was just 1,921.

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Photo: Men from the 7th Light Horse, Gundagai. Source: National Library of Australia

Another photo from the National Archives Collection shows two returned World War 1 soldiers being carried triumphantly by local townsfolk.

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The foundation stone for the memorial was laid in 24 May 1928 by Major General Charles Frederick  Fox, who led the first Australian colonial volunteers to land in South Africa during in the Boer War and became known as “Fighting Charlie”.  He commanded the 1st Light Horse Brigade in the Middle East and soon after his return to Australia was elected to the Senate in 1919 and devoted himself to the welfare of returned soldiers.  Read more of this remarkable career by clicking here.

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The monument is located at the northern end of the Prince Alfred Bridge and must have been lucky to survive its location adjacent to what was once the Hume Highway before the town bypass was built.

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The nearby Gundagai  Museum has an interesting display on WWI and local enlistments and is worth visiting if you are in the area.

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The Register of War Memorials in New South Wales  also lists the ANZAC Park War Memorial in Gundagai.

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The Families and Friends of the First AIF thanks the Australian, UK and French governments for affording Australian and British soldiers – presently buried in mass graves at Pheasant Wood – dignified individual reburials in a new CWGC cemetery at Fromelles, and applauds Minister Snowdon and his British counterpart, Parliamentary UnderSecretary of State for Defence and Minister for Veterans, Kevan Jones MP, for their joint decision to DNA test the remains at exhumation and use every reasonable method to attempt identification of each soldier.

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