Anzac Grants For Local Groups

November 7, 2014

Five local projects have been successful in receiving funding through the second round of the State Government’s Anzac Centenary Community Grants.

Member for Nanango Deb Frecklington said the grants program enabled local communities to commemorate what World War I meant to their communities.

The local projects to receive funding are:

Bunya Mountains Natural History Association – $521.25 to replace a cast bronze plaque honouring World War I soldiers,

Yarraman RSL Sub Branch – $5836 to build a permanent display in the Yarraman Soldiers Memorial Hall to commemorate local World War I soldiers,

South Burnett Regional Council – $12,000 to stage the theatrical production ‘Gallipoli’ for students and the community,

Wild Horse FM (Yarraman) – $3550 to deliver Anzac Day programming on Wild Horse FM,

Maidenwell Community Group – $10,450 to repair and refurbish the Maidenwell Cenotaph.

“I’d really like to congratulate these local groups on their successful applications. The First World War had a dramatic international impact, but the effects were also felt in local communities like Yarraman, Maidenwell, Kingaroy and all around Queensland,” Mrs Frecklington said.

“This program acknowledges the sacrifice made and loss suffered by the many communities whose residents contributed to the war effort either on the battlefield or on the home front.”

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More information about each project:

Bunya Mountains Natural History Association – The funding will allow the association to replace a large cast bronze plaque to honour the region’s returned servicemen. Unfortunately the plaque was stolen in December 2012.

The original plaque was erected at the foot of the Soldiers’ Road at the Bunya Mountains on the Dalby side in July 1999, by the Bunya Mountains Natural History Association. The plaque honoured the returned servicemen who constructed the Soldiers’ Road – from the foot to the top of the Bunya Mountains – with picks, shovels and axes after they returned from the World War I.

The association will re-instate this commemorative plaque, replicating the original wording:

“In 1919, Dalby and Wambo Councils pooled their repatriation grants of 700 pounds and planned the first road up the Bunyas. Hector Munro surveyed the route and 32 returned soldiers commenced building this road using pick and shovel. Shire engineer Jack Bennie supervised much of the work. Place names from wartime experiences were added. After two years, and extra cost, it had reached the top and was opened on April 21, 1921, by J. Harry Coyne MLA. The road was later completed to Munro’s Camp by volunteer labour supplied by the Dalby Bunya Mountain Club.”

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RSLA (Qld Branch) Yarraman Sub Branch – The Yarraman RSL will create a permanent display in the Yarraman Soldiers Memorial Hall (a venue used almost daily by the community) to honour and preserve the memory and sacrifice of the local men and women who contributed to the World War I effort.

The display will be in the form of photographs together with details such as when they enlisted, occupations, service history, next of kin, wounded or killed, any conspicuous bravery awards (which so far include a Military Cross and four Military Medal recipients) and units they served.

The project will preserve the area’s wartime history for future generations. It represents an informative and educational tribute allowing the wider community to identify and honour the brave men and women from the Yarraman District, and to reflect on the meaning and importance of Queenslanders in this historic centenary.

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South Burnett Regional Council – “Gallipoli – A Manual of Trench Warfare” is a theatrical production written by Clem Gorman and performed by Jally Entertainment.

South Burnett Regional Council hopes to offer the local community two performances: a day time session which performed free to school students, and an evening performance for the general public.

This production takes the audience back to 1915, a time and place where our diggers experienced diverse psychological and physical trauma.

Not only was it a daily struggle to stay alive through repeated battles with the enemy, but it was also a struggle to stay sane through fear and isolation.

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Wild Horse FM – The radio station will deliver an Anzac Day event and dedicated radio programming on Anzac Day 2015. It will include an outside broadcast event at Maidenwell in association with the Tanduringie State School and the Yarraman RSL.

A radio documentary will also be made for broadcast during a day of programming on Wild Horse FM. The outside broadcast will involve the students from the school as part of the station’s schools training project and a component of a student training project known as Wild Horse on the Move.

The documentary will be produced by Wild Horse FM and include interviews with local families and members of the RSL community of South Burnett. Wild Horse FM will invite local residents to provide the names of family members inscribed on the Menin Gate or who are buried at Tyne Cot (Belgium) or the Buttes cemetery at Polygon Wood, Belgium.

These families will be interviewed as part of the documentary and included in the on air programming during Anzac Day. A roll of honour of the 63 people who did not return from World War I will also be broadcast.

A CD will be produced including the documentary, the outside broadcast and programming on the day.

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Maidenwell Community Group – The project is to repair and refurbish the Maidenwell cenotaph.

This may include: