A group of Light Horse enthusiasts departed from Shepparton on Tuesday on a 700km trek to commemorate the birth and death of General Sir Harry Chauvel, one of Australia’s most distinguished and decorated army generals.
Fittingly the ride was farewelled with a service at the statue commemorating Brigadier Sir Murray Bourchier who was commander of the 4th Light Horse Regiment under General Sir Harry Chauvel during WWI.
Honor Auchinleck, granddaughter of General Chauvel and John Bourchier, a great nephew of Sir Murray, farewelled the riders.
Mrs Auchinleck said it was a pleasure to launch the ride along with Mr Bourchier on the 80th anniversary of General Chauvel’s death.
“During our lifetimes we have enjoyed the Australia that our forebears created,” she said.
“Now, you are all doing what many of the returned WWI Servicemen would have liked to have done. They would have liked to have had their horses brought home, to have travelled and visited their wartime mates and the families of mates who didn’t come home.
“They would have liked to have seen more of the country that they served and learn more about its people.
“As we all know, life isn’t like that.”
“When these men came home, they had to find work to support themselves and their families. They had children to raise. They had to get to work on the family farms. They had soldiers’ settlements to develop. They had to fill jobs that their mates might have done had they survived the war.
“All these things conspired to keep most men tied to a certain area.
“Now it is you who are doing these things that they could not do, to create an awareness of the links between communities that many of them were unable to create.
“Thank you for all you are doing to commemorate the rich legacies the Light Horsemen, their leader Sir Harry Chauvel, Commanding officers like Murray Bourchier honoured here in Shepparton, and all those who have served our country they have left us.
“Enjoy the ride and the people you meet.”
The final leg of the Chauvel Border Trail Ride will be from Cudgewa, over Keelangie and on to Tallangatta, finishing at the statue of Sandy the Warhorse.
See: Chauvel Border Light Horse Trail
This article appeared in the Corryong Courier, 6 March 2025.
