Great War memories

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A bell from Simpson's donkey at Moama

The simple brass bell might have been acquired from Indian troops on Gallipoli or from Egypt.

AIF identity discs at Port Augusta

The AIF identity discs of the McAuliffe brothers were returned to their mother Elizabeth during the war.

Air Disaster Memorial in Canberra

A plane crash in 1940 claimed the life of a formidable man who helped to create the AIF in World War I.

Albert Borella VC, Ronald Lister Collection at Darwin

A group of Territory volunteers who sailed on SS Aldenham to enlist at Townsville included Albert Borella, who had walked and ridden over 900km.

Alexander Robertson's diary aboard HMAS Warrego at Camperdown

The Helles Memorial lies at the tip of the Gallipoli Peninsula. Little visited by Australians, this is the only place where every British Empire and Commonwealth military unit and naval vessel that fought in the Gallipoli campaign of 1914'1916 is commemorated.

Archdeacon O'Donnell's grave at New Town

The grave of a Catholic priest in Cornelian Bay Cemetery reflects his forty-two years of faithful service to the congregants of the Archdiocese of Tasmania. Born in Buninyong, Victoria, of Irish parentage, Archdeacon Thomas Joseph O'Donnell spent most of his life in Tasmania, as a priest in the parishes of Stanley, Latrobe, New Norfolk, Moonah, Launceston and Sandy Bay. He worked tirelessly building churches and schools and served on local councils and hospital boards.

Australian Light Horse ring at Murrumburrah

Harden-Murrumburrah has a long association with cavalry units and commemorates local me who served in the Light Horse.

Australian Red Ensign at Bega

Sergeant Bignell, who served with 1 Australian Casualty Clearing Station on Gallipoli and the Western Front, brought home an Australian flag.

Baskerville's sculpted memorial at Maryborough

A tall pedestal in town carries a larger-than-life bronze statue of a soldier thrusting forward with his rifle.

Bell tent at Devonport

A conical tent that was used by Major Alexander Broun in the West Indies, similar to those used by the AIF in Egypt, on Gallipoli and in Europe.

Binoculars and female relative pin at Eugowra

A pair of binoculars owned by Percy Clements of Balyney were used in readiness for firing a 4.5" Howitzer gun.

Book of Gold at Christ Church Cathedral, Newcastle

On display in the Warriors' Chapel at Christ Church Cathedral, Newcastle, New South Wales, is a very personal memorial to those who lost their lives in the Great War. The chapel was conceived as a place where grieving families who had no grave to visit could find solace. In the early 1920s, parishioners of the Newcastle Diocese donated wedding and engagement rings, and other jewellery, to be made into items to memorialise their lost sons, fathers, husbands and fiancées.

Boorowa War Memorial

It took 15 years of discussion, fundraising and a referendum before Boorowa finally constructed a community war memorial.

Brass font ewer at South Grafton

Brass shell cases were frequently souvenired by returning troops who reworked them as 'trench art' into vases, containers, ashtrays and a host of other ornamental and utilitarian items. One such object may be unique in that it serves as the water ewer (jug) for baptisms in St Mathew's Anglican Church, South Grafton. In his meticulous account of his wartime experiences, Private Verdi Schwinghammer of Grafton, who served in the 42nd Battalion, described how this happened.

Caroline Pengilley letters and photographic collections at Apollo Bay

On 27 June 1916, Private Jim Turner wrote what was probably his last letter home.'Dear Mother', he wrote,'I hope to see Charley before I go into the firing line again as I have a feeling I won't come out …

Celtic cross memorial to Sergeant Higgins at Arthurs Seat

HB Higgins, a leader at the time of Federation, commemorated the loss of his only child Mervyn.

Charles Bean and the Pillars of Bathurst

Amongst an arrangement of historic verandah posts commemorating Bathurst's prominent citizens is a memorial to CEW Bean, Australia's official First World War historian and founder of the Australian War Memorial. It stands in a cultural garden along with memorials which include the Wiradjuri leader and warrior Windradyne, Blair Anderson Wark VC and the Federation activist William Astley.

Charles Bean speech at Canberra

A document written at the request of the Australian Commonwealth Peace Celebrations Committee in 1919 was circulated to all schools to be read on the occasion of the presentation of the Peace Souvenir Medallions to all Australian school children up to the age of 14 years, and also aged up to 16 years if their parents were in the armed forces. The nationwide distribution of medallions began in March 1919. The document, written by the AIF's Official War Correspondent, CEW Bean, was titled The Great War 1914'19.

Charles Berry's AIF kit bag at Port Pirie

The AIF kit bag held all his belongings and travelled to Egypt, England, France and Belgium.

Charles Brady's 'In Memoriam' draft letter at Dunkeld

In the Dunkeld Historical Museum is a collection relating to the Brady family. Charles Brady emigrated from County Longford, Ireland, to Victoria in 1864. He married Catherine Murray and the couple had fourteen children, all born in the Dunkeld district.

Coalfields wall of Honour plaques and Collie's Soldiers Park

On 15 May 1921 the Governor of Western Australia, Sir Francis Newdegate, planted a tree to inaugurate an Avenue of Honour. Each planting was accompanied by a plaque recording the briefest account of the life and sacrifice of a soldier from Collie.

Cohuna Museum and Archives

Planning for Cohuna's new granite memorial uncovered the names more service men around the district.

Colour patch pin at Cardwell

This colour patch pin of the 11th Light Horse Regiment is a memento of the service of local man Henry'Harry' Charles Curtis. The pins are frequently referred to as'sweetheart' brooches. However, that name is misleading as the brooches were also given to female relatives and friends. In some cases they may have been purchased by a loved one as a symbol of affection and support for a soldier on active service.

Commemorative photo frame at Pinnaroo

The men of the 10th Battalion, raised in South Australia, were among the first ashore at the dawn landing at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915. The unit fought at Anzac throughout the campaign until the evacuation in December 1915. Amongst them were men from Pinnaroo.

Deceased soldier's possessions at Mulwala

Few of the airman's personal effects survived a fatal aircraft crash on the Western Front in 1917.

Desailly Rotunda and Carnegie Library at Mildura

The George Desailly Memorial rotunda was the rallying point for the Mildura community during the Great War.

Deserted village with wartime history at Hopetoun

Goyura's ruins hide an impressive Great War history, including five sons in the AIF, three of whom received the Military Medal.

Drum Major's staff at Burra

Burra Cheer Up Ladies' Band and an 'all-in' attitude led the town's incredible war effort.

Elsie Godden's Celebration of Peace certificate at Linton

The signing of the Treaty of Versailles was cause for celebration around the globe. In the grandeur of the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles, France, the cessation of hostilities of the Great War between Germany and the Allied powers ended with the signing of the treaty on 28 June 1919.

Euralie Public School Honour Roll

Fifteen kilometres to the south-west of Yass on the Euralie Road stands the mailbox for Euralie homestead. Some 100 metres due west is the site of the long vanished Euralie school, once the centre of a tiny rural community. In July 1918 this community gathered to unveil their honour roll. This was generally the preserve of dignitaries, but on this occasion, a five-year-old child, Amelia'Mary' McGrath performed this duty. Two photographs show Mary dressed in a white uniform with a red cross and a cap that, eighty years later, she recalled being fashioned from one of her father's handkerchiefs.

First World War Memorial at Jeparit

A memorial in the birthplace of Australian Prime Minister Sir Robert Menzies has a distinctive female figure.

Framed memento of the Berrima Guard

The people of Berrima hosted many German internees and prisoners of war in their disused jail from 1915 to 1919.

Frederick Arthur Foster's memorial plaque at Forbes

A memorial plaque issued after the death of Frederick Foster was proudly mounted on timber.

Gold war service medallion at Stanley

Gold medallions were presented to to 15 returned service men on Empire Day in 1919, at a welcome home held in the crowded town hall.

Grave of Lieutenant Commander Haggard DSC at Lilydale

Geoffrey Haggard's grave in the Lilydale Lawn Cemetery is a vivid reminder of the bravery and resilience of Australia's World War I submariners. The dangers they faced with the evolving technology of the day and persistent enemy actions were formidable.

Grave of Padre White at Herberton

Herberton provided the First AIF with expert tunnellers, and was the final resting place of a leading character in the Great War.

Hahndorf minenwerfer

On Main Street in the village of Hahndorf stands a stark reminder of the Great War' an artillery piece from the Western Front. During the war, strong anti-German views caused rifts in this South Australian community, which had been founded by German settlers in the late 1830s. Accusations of spying, plots to overthrow the government and constant taunting created unrest and some families anglicised their names to avoid trouble. Hahndorf was one of sixty-nine towns in South Australia that were renamed under the Nomenclature Act of 1917.

Henty School of Arts Hall

Tom Skeyhill the 'blind-soldier' poet sold his Anzac songbook at recruiting events at towns like Henty in 1916 and 1917.

Honour Rolls and Memorials at Katanning

The Museum at Katanning clusters around a church and a school, both of which are used for exhibition of the Katanning Historical Society's Collection. This collection includes several honour rolls and memorial plaques from schools, local government halls and community halls in Katanning and outlying districts.

Jack Archer's furniture and tools at Stanthorpe

Returned men like John'Jack' Kinder Archer learned their skills on the job when they took up land at Pikedale Soldiers' Settlement north-west of Stanthorpe on Queensland's Granite Belt. Neighbour and fellow returned soldier Ted Lomas recalled Jack's arrival at Amiens to take up his 127-acre block: He was pushing a bicycle and I often wondered since, how he pushed it all the way from Stanthorpe, because it was piled high with all sorts of gear necessary to start a home in the bush. There were blankets, a tent, clothes, food, tools, cooking utensils and tinware for eating from.

Jessie Bonnett's Scrapbook 1914-18 at Warrnambool

When World War One broke out, Jessie Bonnett, who lived on her parent's property at Mepunga east along the coast from Warrnambool, was seventeen. As the war progressed, Jessie amassed a heap of newspaper cuttings about the war experiences of the servicemen and women from the Warrnambool district, as revealed in published letters they wrote home to their families and friends.

Kangaroo March slouch hat badge at Wagga

A small crocheted slouch hat worn by AIF recruiting officer Lieutenant Charles Aitken Mayes in 1915.

King George Sound at Albany

The first convoy of Australian and New Zealand soldiers departed from Western Australia in 1914, farewelled by the people of Albany.

Letter concerning Private 'Rowdy' Butler's death at Tully

Hugh Ramsay Butler was born on Floraville station near Burketown in Queensland's Gulf Country on 14 September 1893. As a child he moved with his family to'Fringford' on the Murray River near Cardwell, Queensland. He enlisted at Townsville in January 1916 and by late July had arrived in France.

Lieutenant Matthews' uniform at Hay

Hay district service men such as Lieutenant Roy Matthews set fine examples for students when the high school was built after the war.

Light Horse Park and watering troughs at Seymour

The park was established on the site of the original barracks and training ground of the Seymour troop of the Victorian Mounted Rifles.

Mead Photographic Honour Roll at Cohuna

The local pictorial Honour Roll was moved from Mead to Cohuna when the Mead Mechanics Institute was moved.

Memorial pavilion at Narrogin

A suggestion that Narrogin build a memorial was first raised in July 1915 when the Bishop of Bunbury, Dr Goldsmith, proposed that a projected new Anglican church be dedicated to the memory of the district's citizens who died in the war.

Military Heritage Trail at Balranald

Father Patrick Killian, a native of Edenderry, County Offaly, Ireland, served as parish priest at the local Catholic church at Balranald from 1919-1934 and had been chaplain to the 4th Light Horse Regiment in Palestine during the Great War. There he witnessed the courage and determination of the men of the 4th as they galloped with bayonets drawn in what became the last great cavalry charge, at Beersheba in October 1917. He shared many experiences with these men, both during and after the war, as he worked for their welfare.

Milton Street Church of England Record Book at Hamilton

Between 1914 and 1918, as they came together each week for religious instruction, the children of the Anglican Milton Street Sunday School in Hamilton, Victoria, said this prayer for former scholars away at the war: 'Shield and protect them O Lord; send them help and comfort from Thy holy place'. Of thirty-eight former scholars, nine died in the war; seven were wounded and, along with twenty-two others, returned home.
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