It was early in the afternoon of Anzac Day last week. Under a cloudy sky a crowd of 60 or more gathered around the Peace Cairn at Nuggetty for a unique commemoration service. The cairn was built in 1919; a plaque nearby reads: Frederick Moss of La Quinta, Nuggetty. (Now known as Carmel Vale) and his son Pte Phil Moss 4th Light Horse, Egypt 1915 and 101st Howitzer Bn France 1916-1918 erected this cairn in 1919 to commemorate the end of WWI 1914-1918. It was placed by descendants of Frederick Moss in 2006.
Tribute was paid to ‘our merchant sailor’ Bill Ruffner, who recently turned 100, and to members of the Moss family in attendance. Then, in a departure from honouring the more famous figures involved in past conflicts, people were invited to tell stories of family members and their involvement. Moss family members did so, as did others.
Newton told an intriguing story of his father as a young man out on the town with three mates deciding to visit a fortune teller not long before going into battle. The first young man was told he would survive the war and return home to meet and marry a blonde woman with whom he would have four children and live a long and happy life. The second man was alarmed to have the fortune teller refuse to tell him anything. He did not return home. Before it came to the others’ turn, including Newton’s dad, they were spotted and ordered to return to base. His dad survived the war and led a long life to the grand old age of “ninety-nine point seven” in his son’s words.
Roland spoke of his brother’s experience in more recent times. In 1993 it was decided to bring home the remains of an unknown Australian soldier exhumed from Adelaide Cemetery near Villers-Bretonneux in France. He was entombed at the Australian War Memorial.
Roland’s brother was a member of the party involved in the operation. He described accompanying the coffin while still in France, in extremely heavy fog and led by a single drumbeat: sightless, and with just that single repeated beat of the drum, it was a moment of eerie and unforgettable solemnity.
The ceremony was also marked by a series of readings. Along with the customary Ode were the Sonnet for ANZAC Day by Alf Wood and an emotional rendition of I Dream A World by James Mercer Langston Hughes. Throughout the ceremony two horses and riders stood quietly by. At its conclusion a lavish afternoon tea provided by members of the Nuggetty Land Protection Group was enjoyed by all.
See all the ANZAC Day coverage in the issue.
This article appeared in the Tarrangower Times, 3 May 2024.