History & heritage

Catherine Grimley. Promptly at 9.30 on Tuesday morning marchers stepped off at the Transit Centre for the ANZAC Day March to the RSL ... This year’s main address by Sergeant Pam Dillon focused on the sacrifices and service of animals in war (represented by the purple poppy)...

An inspired address by former Charlton resident, Wing Commander, Garry McKee resonated strongly with the large crowd attending the 2023 Charlton Anzac Day ceremony last Tuesday on a gloriously mild autumn morning ... The deaths of 8,709 Australians and 2701 New Zealanders and a total of 44,000 Allied soldiers on that small peninsula introduced the theme which Garry wove throughout his speech – “They knew their chances were slim, but they went anyway.”

This year’s Anzac Day commemorations remembered and honoured military service men and women lost during wartime conflict and peacekeeping missions. 2023 commemorates 108 years since Anzac troops landed at Gallipoli in World War I and 50 years since the end of the Vietnam War.

How is Aboriginal cultural heritage defined in the Guidelines? ... Are there any records we can search to identify heritage sites? ... What is an exempt activity? ... If I need a permit or plan what are the timelines? ... Isn’t there a better way?

The first formal commemoration of Anzac Day at Westbrook was organised in 2008 by the local Hall Committee and since then, attendances have improved each year.

Hundreds of people across the district flocked to Anzac Day marches and services ... A large crowd surround the memorial park to hear Cohuna/Leitchville RSL president, Geoff Dale, conduct the service, with assistance from military personnel, school children, Gannawarra Shire Council CEO Geoff Rollinson and Sergeant Josh Coombs.  

A small but moving commemorative service was conducted by the Salvation Army on Tuesday at the local cemetery. Wreaths were laid, Hymns were sung and Marco recited a poem he’d written "Such is War". After the Ode, the Last Post and one minute’s silence the crowd dispersed to Herbert Street for the Parade.

In his welcome to the Anzac Day service in Corryong on Tuesday, RSL sub-branch secretary, Greg Nankervis, told of how two towns half a world apart were honouring the memory of a young Upper Murray soldier this year. Malcolm Chisholm was the first Australian to die and the first of some 60,000 Australians who lost their lives on the First World War battlefields.

The Narrandera community turned out in big numbers to remember the service and sacrifice of veterans at Anzac Day services. Guest speaker at the main service in the Memorial Gardens is Squadron Leader Jorden Coggin, accompanied by catafalque leader Sgt Shannon Flannery.

Nhill held a Dawn Service for ANZAC Day 2023 which attracted a large crowd and then a march from the Nhill Information Centre to the Cenotaph for a wreath laying ceremony at the cenotaph.

Michelle Daw. A field of 1000 handcrafted poppies and wooden crosses made a poignant sight at Port Broughton for Anzac Day. The crosses were laid out in a grid on the foreshore lawns to reflect overseas war graves of Australian service personnel. Crocheted or knitted poppies in three colours – red to commemorate fallen servicemen and women, purple in remembrance of war service animals, and white to remember all the casualties of war, both civilians and armed forces – adorned the crosses.

More than Tea and Scones is a new theatrical production about the women of the QCWA recognising 100 years of effort in 2023, its centennial year. Written by award winning Cairns playwright Angela Murphy of Veranda Theatre, the show could be set in any CWA hall.

The old section of Corryong cemetery - now known as the Corryong Pioneer Memorial Cemetery - which served Corryong and the Upper Murray district, holds its fair share of saints, strugglers, vagabonds and rough diamonds. Following on from the success of the Upper Murray Historical Society’s 2018 Cemetery Walk it has been decided to repeat the event this year, following interruptions by bushfire and a pandemic.

An estimated record number of spectators tartaned up and headed to the riverside community of Maclean on April 7 and 8 to experience a jubilant, colourful, and cultural celebration of all things Scottish during the 118th Maclean Highland Gathering. Amidst the dominant humming of bagpipes, Chief Peter Smith from the Lower Clarence Scottish Association declared the crowd was the largest he had seen in more than 20 years...

When journalist Samantha Elley saw the Woodburn cemetery for the first time, it was from a distance ... Sam said she is a taphophile – a lover of cemeteries. She has been writing family history stories for more than 30 years ... The book –  A Bend in the River  – took five years.  

Embracing a huge restoration project means there’s always something new to keep you out of trouble. In the case of Nhill Silo, large-scale maintenance works are now underway.

A striking collaboration between artists of stage and screen honours the trials and triumphs of extraordinary everyman A.B. Facey, whose award-winning Australian classic autobiography, 'A Fortunate Life', has been adapted for theatrical presentation by THEATRE 180 and CinemaStage. ‘A Fortunate Life’ embraces themes that are intrinsic to our history and culture as modern Australians...

Monday, the Maldon Freemasons marched behind the Maldon Brass Band in the parade. This is the first time in many, many years for the Maldon Freemasons and the first time in history that the Victorian Grand Masters of the Freemasons Victoria, Grand Mark Lodge and Grand Chapter have joined in a parade united as masons.

As our nation struggles with the ambiguity and to some the divisive nature of 26th January as a national day of celebration young Australians have turned to Anzac Day for a sense of clarity in what it is to be Australian? The sight of Australian High School students shedding tears over the graves of their ancestors in the cemeteries of Gallipoli or the sense of pride they feel when hearing their National Anthem played in Anzac services in Villers Bretonneux in France or the Menin Gate in Belgium, suggest there is a need to know our nation has contributed to a higher moral cause and so generates a sense of pride in their country.

Glengallan Homestead these days thrives with visitors, however its long and storied past, including many decades when it was abandoned, has led to some believing it may be haunted ... "People come back to the Heritage Centre after going through the house and tell us stories of how they felt a chill or how they saw someone at a window," Donna Fraser, Chair, Glengallan Homestead Trust explained.

Gerrit Fokkema. Wesley Stacey died recently in Bermagui, where he had lived since the mid 1970’s. Between 1968 and 1972, Wes made pictures in Wilcannia of buildings and street scenes that were used in a book, ‘Historic Towns of Australia’.

The Allora Museum at 53 Warwick Street will be open this Sunday 16 April from 1 until 4pm with an extensive collection of Wedding Gowns that have been worn by local ladies over the years. The Gowns and Bridesmaid dresses have been tagged with the Bride's name and who she married.