George Christensen (Dawson, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

Gallipoli 1915: a campaign often credited as being the birth of our nation. April 25: the day our soldiers stood tall, prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice. It was the day our soldiers created the legend and a reputation as formidable foes in battle. Many men from throughout my electorate of Dawson, from the towns of Mackay, Proserpine, Bowen, Ayr, Home Hill and Townsville, answered the call to serve their country. Many made the ultimate sacrifice and many were inflicted with physical and psychological wounds that had a huge impact on their lives. But every man and every woman who served deserves the highest respect.

Tonight I would like to honour the memory of but one man, Billy Sing, a young man from Proserpine, who used his bush skills to carve out a fearsome reputation at Gallipoli as the crack sniper of the Anzacs. The Australian War Memorial tells his story. It notes that a fellow soldier who was often Billy's spotter described Billy as:

… a little chap, very dark, with a jet black moustache and a goatee beard. A picturesque looking mankiller. He is the crack sniper of the Anzacs.

Billy, who was born William Sing in 1886 to an English mother and a Chinese father, had a tough life on the land, but he became a talented horse rider and shooter. When the war broke out, word has it that, like many young men, he rushed to sign up. He would have been about 28 years old at the time. Later in the war, there was a resistance to recruiting non-white Australians, but, as Billy was one of the first men to enlist, he did not face any discrimination, and he was promptly accepted into the 5th Light Horse Regiment. The Australian Light Horse Association also note the great contribution of Trooper William Eddie Sing. They note:

William Edward Sing, like most of his fellow members of the Regiment, had grown up and worked with horses in the Australian bush. Part of their cumulative stock-in-trade was an ability to ride well, estimate distance carefully, track strayed stock and animal pests, and to fire both rifle and shotgun accurately.

The Light Horse Association note that Billy Sing's considerable skills with a rifle were well-known locally long before the outbreak of World War I. I note that Billy was a member of the Proserpine Rifle Club and a leading kangaroo shooter in the region.

He was sent to Egypt in December 1914, and then he went on to Gallipoli in May 1915. It was at a position that was called Chatham's Post that Billy Sing began in earnest to earn his lethal nicknames: 'the murderer' and 'the assassin'. Every morning, in the darkness before dawn, Billy would find a place to hide and watch over the Turkish soldiers in their trenches. The Australian War Memorial says that once Billy and his spotter were in position and had settled in the true discipline of rigidly maintaining a quiet and motionless patience began. This was not a job for fidgeters. Snipers rarely get a second shot at a specific target. To avoid becoming the target of the Turkish snipers, the Australians would stay in their position until nightfall.

The ANZAC war diary for 23 October 1915 states:

Our premier sniper, Trooper Sing, 2nd L.H., yesterday accounted for his 199th Turk. Every one of this record is vouched for by an independent observer, frequently an officer who observes through a telescope.

Billy's fame spread beyond the soldiers at Gallipoli, and his tally was written about in the Australian, British and American press. The Turkish army were also well aware of Billy's reputation. In an effort to eliminate him, they brought in their own crack shot—a man who became known to Australians as 'Abdul the Terrible'. It has been reported by wartime journalist Ion Idriess that Abdul the Terrible claimed the life of Private John Simpson Kirkpatrick, or 'that man with the donkey'.

Abdul came very close to fulfilling his mission of wiping out the little Aussie sniper from Proserpine. In August 1915, a single bullet fired from the Turkish side passed through spotter Tom Sheehan's telescope, and through his hands, mouth and cheek, before hitting Billy in the shoulder. In the end, it was Billy who shot and killed Abdul. The Turkish army immediately retaliated, aiming its heavy artillery at Billy's hiding position and completely destroying it. Fortunately for the little Aussie sniper and his spotter, they had already evacuated to their unit trenches. For his efforts on Gallipoli, Billy was mentioned in dispatches by General Sir Ian Hamilton. He was awarded the British Distinguished Conduct Medal in 1916, as the inscription on his medal states, for:

Conspicuous gallantry from May to September 1915 at Anzac as a sniper. His courage and skill were most marked and he was responsible for a very large number of casualties among the enemy, no risk being too great for him to take.

The Australian soldiers were evacuated from Gallipoli in December 1915, and Billy was sent first for training in England and then to fight in France as part of the 31st Battalion. The type of warfare on the Western Front was very different to that on Gallipoli. It is unlikely that, as a sniper, Billy spent much of his time on the battlefield; nevertheless, his skills were put to good use. In 1917, he was recommended for, though not awarded, the Military Medal for his actions leading an antisniper fighting patrol at Polygon Wood, in Belgium. He was again mentioned in dispatches for gallantry, this time by the Commander of I ANZAC Corps, General Birdwood. In 1918, he was awarded the Belgian Croix de Guerre.

Billy's health suffered during his service, and he was frequently hospitalised to treat ailments ranging from serious infections to influenza. He was wounded on a number of occasions. One gunshot wound to the leg caused him problems for years. In 1917, while recuperating from his illness, in Britain he had a stroke of luck. Billy Sing married Elizabeth Stewart, a 21-year-old waitress from Scotland. Little is known about her or her marriage, and it is not even certain that she accompanied him back to Australia.

Billy returned to Australia in July 1918 as a submarine guard on board the troopship SS Boonah. Shortly afterwards, he was permanently discharged as a result of being unfit for duty due to ongoing chest problems. He returned to that little town of Proserpine this great hero of the ANZACs—this crack sniper; 'the murderer', as they called him. He came home and it was to a hero's welcome, which included the presentation of a purse of sovereigns from well-wishers.

Whether or not Elizabeth had accompanied Billy back to Australia, it is known that they were permanently separated by the time he took up a soldier settlement farm a few years after his return. Sadly, that farming venture failed for Billy, as did an attempt to strike it lucky in the Miclere gold fields that were near his property in Clermont, which is west of Mackay. I suppose for our region, sadly, that is where the story of Billy Sing ends. Having no luck with the farm and no luck with mining, he moved to Brisbane in 1942 to be near his only surviving sister, Beatrice. A year later, he died of heart failure at the age of 57—in poverty, as I understand it. This hero of the war—the crack sniper of the Anzacs—died in poverty.

All that remained of this one-time famous sniper was a miner's hut, worth around £20, and five shillings found in his room in a boarding house. There were no signs of medals or awards. Billy was buried at Lutwyche Cemetery in Brisbane. His headstone highlights his skills as a sniper. It reads:

His incredible accuracy contributed greatly to the preservation of the lives of those with whom he served during a war always remembered for countless acts of valour and tragic carnage.

It is fitting that, during the Centenary of Anzac, Billy Sing has been honoured again. His story has been carved and gold plated into a black granite slab at the Brisbane cemetery where he lies. The memorial was unveiled on 19 May this year, the anniversary of Sing's death. It recognises not only Billy but also all Chinese-Australians who served their country. Whatever the future holds for us, as Australians we owe a great debt to the original Anzacs. We honour them on this day, and we remember them. Lest we forget.

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