Military

A family-owned engineering company based in Port Macquarie has been awarded an $8.47 million contract to deliver the Australian Defence Force’s next generation rough terrain vehicle fleet, providing a boost to the local economy.

A nationwide operation has been launched aiming to bolster the supply of local workers to help deliver this year’s bumper grains harvest and relieve pressure on farming communities. Retired and former ADF servicemen and women are being motivated and mobilised under Operation Grain Harvest Assist, to answer the call-up and work on grain farms stationed throughout Australia.

A new subdivision, an Elders residence and a men’s shed will be the legacy projects left behind in Pormpuraaw by the Australian Army, but friendships and positive influences will leave a far greater impact.

Douglas Draeger. In 2021 Spirits are high for those who made it across the borders in to the Northern Territory. More than 140 genuine World War II vehicles and over 15 post war support vehicles would normally be making their way to Alice Springs from all over Australia for the official start of Back to the Track on 1 August.

The opening quotation of Henry Lawson’s ‘Ode to Peter Lalor’ sets the tone for what is to come in this rollicking tale set in colonial Australia at the height of the gold rush in the mid nineteenth century. The themes of mateship, danger, struggle against authority and the enticement of that precious metal – gold – are all there.

Sheryl Lowe. Eighty years ago, a tragedy occurred on the shores of Beachport. It took the lives of two young sailors, Able Seaman Thomas William Todd aged 30 years and Able Seaman William Leonard Edward Danswan aged 23 years. This week, the Millicent and Robe Sub-Branches of the RSL hosted the 80th Anniversary Service of the Sea Mine Explosion at the Beachport Mine Memorial.

Eye catching Boabs are a unique feature of our Kimberley backyard, and are now part of the branding of both the Shire of Derby/West Kimberley (SDWK) and RAAF Base Curtin.

Rockhampton Regional Council and Livingstone Shire Council have welcomed the State Government’s support for Central Queensland to become a bigger hub for the Defence Industry. Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced last week that lease arrangements had been secured at Shoalwater Bay which would allow for 14,000 Singapore Armed Forces personnel to train between there and Townsville.

“Defence intends to utilise RAAF Base Scherger during Exercise Talisman Sabre 21 as the facility provides an important opportunity for the practice of rapid airbase activation and subsequent flying operations from the Royal Australian Air Force’s northern austere bare base and strategic outpost,” a Defence spokesperson told Cape York Weekly.

Leading Seaman Breanna Jacobs-Rochford was a long way from home when she recently attended the 150th Coming of the Light festival on Erub Island. She joined the Navy in 2016 from Giabal and Jarowair Country in the Toowoomba region to follow in the footsteps of family members and to travel the world and experience different countries and their cultures. Currently posted to the Navy Indigenous Development Program, Leading Seaman Jacobs-Rochford provides cultural support and guidance to other staff members and recruits.

Out of town on the Ellangowan flats, the Diggers Clubhouse is a place where serving and former veterans can meet like-minded people. The former RFS building is the clubhouse for the Diggers Military Motorcycle Club where the men-only chapter of eight meet twice a month. Club president Todd De Bono said it was a place of “no judgment”.

Whyalla turned out in droves on Sunday to celebrate the 80th Anniversary of the HMAS Whyalla’s launch. Whyalla City Council organised a free open day at the Whyalla Maritime Museum, packed full of family activities and plenty of the history of the city’s most famous landmark. The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) heavily supported the occasion, taking part in a number of activities, including a ceremonial flag raising performed by the TS Whyalla Navy Cadets.

Weipa's air force base will play host to soldiers from Australia and the United States in a couple of months as Defence prepares for a major training exercise ... RAAF Base Scherger has been locked in to play a role and Weipa residents should expect to see some aerial activity around the site in July ... Last year’s Defence strategic update said Australia might now have fewer than 10 years to prepare for a major conflict.

Get up close and personal with RAAF Hawk jets and PC21 training craft when Geraldton Airport throws open the tarmac to the public to celebrate 100 years of the Royal Australian Air Force.

The skies above Evans Head will be busier this week because of Royal Australian Air Force training. The planned F-35A Lightning II training activities will be seen and heard over Evans Head air weapons range on May 10–21.

Here we are each taking time to pause, to reflect, to remember, to hold on to something ... what is that something?

"Could we have come to the end of wars? Could we be the first civilisation to not have enemies? To not have something, someone else wants?"

Kendall Jennings. When the birthday ballot forcefully selected healthy 20-year-old men for compulsory two years’ military service and a further three years on a reserve list under the National Service Act of 1964 for the Vietnam conflict, it set forth a mateship that has not altered in 50 years. On Saturday, April 25, former Two Royal Australian Regiment (2RAR) met on the towns located on the banks of the mighty Murray River, Barham and Koondrook, to pay homage at the Anzac Day services.

Emma Pritchard. More than 100 people gathered at the Ramornie cenotaph on April 24 to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Kapyong, which raged for three days during the Korean War, 1950 – 1953 ... A special plaque designed by the late Major Bob Hayes as a tribute to those who served during the Korean War was consecrated by the Reverend Canon Camellia Flanagan as members of the Hayes family stood close by.

In 1865, a boy named Henry – later known as Harry –was born in Tabulam. That boy grew up to be General Sir Harry Chauvel and he was the first Australian to attain the rank of lieutenant general and later general and the first to lead a corps – as commander of the Desert Mounted Corps. At Beersheba in October 1917, his Light Horse troops used speed, surprise and bayonets to capture the town and its vital water supply in history’s last great cavalry charge.

Anzac Day in Sydney in 2021 saw the unthinkable occur. The 7th Division Banner was not marched. This is the Division of the Australian Army that fought the Kokoda Track. This is the banner that in recent years was preceded by a jeep in which sat a representative of the New Guinea Highland tribes who provided the ‘fuzzy wuzzy’ angels. It made the news every night of Anzac Day in the past decade. Not a mention of this momentous event.