Ms Catherine King (Ballarat, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I am pleased to stand here on this Remembrance Day to recognise those who sacrificed so much for our country. I missed very much being in my own community today to commemorate due to our parliamentary duties. Remembrance Day is a time when we can come together as Australians and reflect on our past. Every day, millions of Australians busily go about their day-to-day lives. Yet on Remembrance Day we pause together at 11 am. We stop to pay our respects to those who served our country with the highest honour. This year is especially significant as today marks 90 years since the end of World War I; 90 years since the German government agreed to an armistice to withdraw their forces. At 11 am on the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918, the conflict ended.

Remembrance Day is a time to reflect on many things. Like many Australians, my own family has been touched by losing a loved one overseas. My uncle, Edmund Geoffrey Mears, was a leading aircraftsman in the Royal Australian Air Force who died on his 21st birthday in 1942 and is buried in Ambon. Remembrance Day gives me an opportunity to reflect on Geoff’s service in World War II and the impact his death had on his family. Some 66 years on, as the only surviving member of that generation, my mother still misses her brother very much. Geoff’s story is reflected across the country: brothers who never came home; uncles never known; sons lost. All those beautiful boys—and some girls—who never came home and who never got to live full lives. People across the country commemorate Remembrance Day at our many shrines and memorials.

Perhaps because of our strong sense of history Ballarat is home to a number of significant memorials. Great landmarks in Ballarat, such as the Ballarat Arch of Victory and Avenue of Honour, Bacchus Marsh Avenue of Honour, and the Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial, help us honour those who have served so bravely for our country. During the election I had the pleasure of announcing $500,000 for the Bacchus Marsh Avenue of Honour and then reaffirming this commitment during the May budget. The Bacchus Marsh avenue is one of the most magnificent and important elm avenues in the country, and this funding will help to maintain it for future generations.

Also in September I had the pleasure of standing with the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs and announcing the Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial in Ballarat as a national memorial, something long overdue. This national status reflects a strong desire of the Australian people to appropriately honour our ex-POWs.

I would also like to give mention to the Ballarat Avenue of Honour. The Ballarat Avenue of Honour is the earliest known memorial avenue to have been planted in Victoria. Planting commenced in 1917 and was completed two years later in 1919. The avenue stretches for some 22 kilometres and includes over 3,700 trees—all of the fallen from World War I. At the entrance to the Avenue of Honour is a magnificent victory arch. In 1919 the employees of the Lucas factory began to collect money to build the Arch of Victory. They pledged two shillings in every pound of their wages, sold souvenirs and held fundraising drives. On 2 June 1920, the Prince of Wales opened the arch and was presented with a pair of silk pyjamas embroidered with Australian emblems, with each of the 500 ‘Lucas Girls’, as they were known, having put in a stitch. The arch stands as a significant tribute to the men and women of our district who lost their lives in WWI.

Over recent years, the state of the Ballarat Arch of Victory has declined. In recent months we have found that the basic repairs could cost between $80,000 and $100,000, with a full restoration in the vicinity of $200,000. It is unfortunate that such a significant structure has degraded to such an extent, although I guess not unexpected given that it is 88 years old and that it is a very large structure. The Arch of Victory is an important memorial and is close to the hearts of Ballarat residents. After becoming aware of the state of the Arch through the Ballarat Courier I have written to the Minister for Veteran’s Affairs to see if there is any assistance the federal government is able to give. Memorial funding tends to be of much smaller amounts than that required to restore the arch, but given its important status I would hope that we can as a community work together to ensure its survival for another 88 years.

On this Remembrance Day we remember the fallen and the potential they never got to fulfil. We remember the families who have mourned their loss for generations. On behalf of Joycelyn King, nee Mears, I remember Edmund Geoffrey Mears—‘Geoff’—by placing his name in the historic records of this place on this Remembrance Day in 2008.

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