Angus Taylor (Hume, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

The motion moved by the Prime Minister on the Centenary of Anzac reminds us that every Australian has a story to share about the Great War. Part of my own family's story of the Great War is the pain of one brother dying while the other survived. My grandfather William Hudson served on the Western Front when he was 17. He was badly injured in an attack at Bullecourt. He always had a limp. My great-uncle Athol, my grandfather's brother, was killed. Like me, he was a Rhodes scholar, but he never got to Oxford, other than via a memorial in Rhodes House that is there today.

It was a tragedy that many families experienced—like the Bolton brothers. Private Fred Bolton from Young enlisted in October 1914, while his younger brother Harry, inspired by his brother's efforts, enlisted in Cootamundra in 1916. Both brothers were fighting in different parts of the world when Harry was killed in 1917. Fred would return home to Young on Boxing Day 1918, later taking up farming just outside of Goulburn, near where I live today. Boys from the bush like the Bolton brothers, boys who could ride and shoot, became an integral part of Australia's involvement in the Great War.

Many country lads flocked to join the 1st Light Horse Regiment in August 1914, often bringing their own horses and some even brought their dogs. It was all to be a great adventure. Goulburn's Alice Chisholm was to have an adventure of a slightly different kind. She was a devoted war welfare worker who established soldiers' canteens in Egypt and Palestine, providing meals and refreshments to thousands of troops every day. Alice sailed for Egypt in mid-1915 with one of her daughters, after her son Bertram was wounded serving as a light horseman at Gallipoli. The lack of facilities for Australian troops prompted Mrs Chisholm, with her own funds, to start three canteens. Soldiers later wrote of her 'true Australian bush hospitality'. People from the country like the Bolton brothers, like Alice Chisholm, gave their all to the Great War.

It was in this true blue spirit that, 100 years ago, the Kangaroo march went through much of what is now the electorate of Hume. Gallipoli had resulted in such a huge loss of life that enlistments to the Great War had dropped. The Kangaroo march collected 222 men along the way. Townsfolk turned out in droves to cheer the men on. Arriving along Parramatta Road, down George Street and into Macquarie Street on 7 January 1916, the men were greeted as heroes by the waiting crowds. The Daily Telegraph, with the same sort of quality that it reports today, reported at the time:

They came quietly, not cheering or exulting, not lording it over all, but as men of firm purpose and steady resolve.

Many of the Kangaroos were recruited into the 55th Battalion, which was to arrive in France in 1916. The Kangaroos' motto was: 'I go out to return by courage and faith.' A re-enactment of this extraordinarily inspiring march, the Kangaroo March, will commence in Wagga Wagga on 5 September. The march will progress through Cootamundra, Wallendbeen, Harden-Murrumburrah, Galong, Binalong, Bowning, Yass, Jerrawa, Gunning, Breadalbane, Parkesbourne, Goulburn, Marulan, Tallong, Wingello, Bundanoon, Exeter, Moss Vale, Mittagong, Hill Top, Balmoral, Couridjah and Thirlmere, and many Hume villages in between. The march will arrive in Campbelltown on 10 October. Descendants of the original Kangaroos, brave men from the country who answered the call, will be participating in the re-enactment, and communities along the way will be hosting them just as they did 100 years ago—flying flags, hanging bunting and playing music. Everyone is absolutely welcome to participate in the march or to cheer the marchers on. I will be joining the Kangaroos for a couple of legs along the way.

It is a significant part of First World War centenary commemorations for my electorate and it is an absolute pleasure to support this great community-driven event. It is one of 34 projects funded in Hume under the government's Anzac Centenary Local Grants Program—the largest number of approved applications for a federal electorate—and one of the stand-out events in Hume. It was a pleasure to provide just over $13,000 under the program.

We have a large number of other outstanding community projects that are completed or near completion that have received funding to help communities share the special stories of their own fallen heroes. They are things like the new community memorials to be installed at Wollondilly Anglican College, Mulwaree High School and Goulburn High School; a school banner competition coordinated by the Wollondilly Shire Council; a commemorative book designed and published by the Mount Hunter Public School and another from the Picton and District Historical and Family History Society; a commemorative calendar published by the Collector Historical Society; an essay competition and art show from the Boorowa Remembers committee; a memorial and garden at Bungonia, Colo Vale, Binalong and another established by the Goulburn Rose Festival committee; as well as a range of other events and commemorations.

The Centenary of Anzac is a momentous year for our nation. Extraordinary stories have been shared of the service and sacrifice of the men and women of the Great War for the next generation. I thank so many of my constituents for sharing their stories with me in this centenary year.

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