Kingaroy-Memerambi RSL Sub-Branch secretary Warren Cockburn and president Don Davey at the Remembrance Day service at the Kingaroy Memorial
November 12, 2014
Communities across the South Burnett paused at 11:00am on Tuesday to recall the exact moment the guns fell silent in 1918 at the end of the Great War.
More than 60,000 Australians were killed – and 156,000 wounded, gassed, or taken prisoner – during the “war to end all wars”.
Their sacrifice was remembered today from Blackbutt to Kilkivan.
In Kingaroy, poems were read at the foot of the Rotunda in Memorial Park before the Last Post and a Minute’s Silence.
Guest speaker, Deputy Mayor Keith Campbell, reflected on the history of the Armistice and the lessons that we can learn today from the sacrifices of the past.
Wreaths were then laid on the catafalque.
Remembrance Day in Cherbourg took on extra significance with a special commemoration for the “The Boys From Barambah”.
Veterans, families and friends paid tribute at the Cherbourg War Memorial before moving into the The Ration Shed Museum to look through information gathered about the “Black Diggers”.
Eric Law and Des Crump ran an information session in the Boys Dormitory and documents were pasted up on the wall for people to examine.
In Nanango, Army Cadets mounted an Honour Guard at the Memorial as wreaths were laid.
Similar ceremonies were held at Blackbutt, Goomeri, Kilkivan, Murgon, Proston, Wondai and Yarraman.
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In Cherbourg
Students from Cherbourg State School laid a wreath on the monumentThe Junior Murri Rangers sang the National AnthemAunty Bessie Bond and Aunty Pam Fisher paid their respects at the Roll Of Honour; Damian Bond played the didgeridoo during the commemoration
Cherbourg residents, school students and visitors stood to attention as Elgan Leedie played the Last Post at the Cherbourg monument; wreaths were then placed at the foot of the Roll of Honour
Peter Hegarty was excited to discover that one of the soldiers listed at The Ration Shed, Valentine Hare, was a family member who had changed his name to avoid being sent to Palm Island
Eric Law made a presentation about the “Boys From Barambah” in the Boys DormitoryVisitors to The Ration Shed complex had lots of information to look through
Wondai RSL Sub-Branch president Neil Burrows and Cr Ros Heit laid a wreath at the Wondai Remembrance Day service (Photo: SBRC)
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In Blackbutt
Benarkin resident Liz Hollens-Riley with Eddi Thornton … Liz wore her father’s medals at the Blackbutt ceremony; the wooden lectern used was handcrafted by Liz and her fellow Timbertowns woodworkers
