A group of Light Horse enthusiasts will head off on a 700km trek next month to commemorate the birth and death of General Sir Harry Chauvel, one of Australia’s most distinguished and decorated army generals.

A leg of the Chauvel Border Trail Ride will be from Cudgewa, over Keelangie and on to Tallangatta, recognising the journey men and horses from the Upper Murray took to serve in WWI.

Ross Smith, president of Tallangatta’s Sandy the War Horse Committee and experienced endurance rider Pat Leary from the Wagga area will be joined by various riders throughout the Chauvel Commemorative Ride, which will visit schools and RSLs along the route.

The trail runs from the Light Horse Memorial in the New South Wales regional capital of Wagga Wagga to the statue of Brigadier Murray Bourchier CMG DSO in Victoria’s regional capital of Shepparton. The trail follows the road winding through the hills and along the spectacular valleys of the foothills of The Great Dividing Range on the border of New South Wales and Victoria.

“We are currently preparing for the ride but nearly every day something changes,” Ross Smith said.

“We have been gathering more support recently which has been great.

“The councils along the route have been very supportive of the ride as have many schools.

“We are also partnering with Soldier On which provides support for veterans and their families.”

The ride begins on March 4th at the Brigadier Sir Murray Bourchier Memorial in Shepparton – the 80th anniversary of General Sir Harry Chauvel’s death – and makes its way up along the minor roads through the Benalla and Wangaratta districts. The party will be joined by 10 Light Horse troopers on this leg.

The troop plans to ride through Wodonga and Albury on March 11th and 12th and from there they continue north to Wagga and Junee before returning through Young and Cootamundra to Gundagai and then through the Snowy Valleys to the Upper Murray.

The riders aim to arrive in Tintaldra on April 9th for a service at 6pm in Tintaldra’s Avenue of Honour.

They are then scheduled to hold a service on April 14th at 11am at the Cudgewa War Memorial before going on to retrace the route taken by Upper Murray men who during WWI had to ride or catch the horse-drawn coach to Tallangatta to enlist. Before and during the war horses from the Upper Murray sold to the Army were herded over similar routes.

The end of the war and the opening of the rail link between Tallangatta and Cudgewa ended an era for those who rode through the bush with the horses over Keelangie to Tallangatta. The route over which they rode more than 110 years later has become overgrown. Road building, fires and forestry have also changed the landscape; and later the expansion of the Hume Dam in the 1950s and the eventual inundation of Old Tallangatta also wrought further changes.

The re-enacting riders are scheduled to arrive at the ‘Sandy the Warhorse Memorial’ in Tallangatta on April 16th.

The Commemorative Ride will highlight the Light Horse as a voice from the bush in the Spirit of Anzac.

Ross has experience in trail riding and campdraft and has already done a reconnaissance along part of the route from Bullioh to Koetong.

Renowned endurance rider, Pat Leary, will lead the troop throughout the ride while Ross expects to complete around three quarters of the trek between visits to RSL branches and schools.

“I also better turn up at my Mum’s 100th birthday!” he added.

In conjunction with the ride, children’s author Dianne Wolfer and commemorative artist and author George Petrou OAM plan to launch their new books.

Dianne’s book is called Soaring with the Sugar Bird Lady, while George Petrou’s title is The Art of Humanity.

Dates for the Albury and Wodonga book events are yet to be confirmed.

At Tallangatta the riders will commemorate the 160th anniversary of General Sir Harry Chauvel’s birthday in 1865.

For more information or to register to participate in the Commemorative Ride contact Ross Smith on 0418 690 328. 

This article appeared in the Corryong Courier, 13 February 2025.
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