Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On indulgence, I have some remarks concerning the identification of soldiers at Fromelles. Members would be aware that the Battle of Fromelles in July 1916 left more than 5,000 Australian soldiers killed, missing or wounded in a 24-hour period. Since that battle, many families have been left with no certainty about the fate of their loved ones. Today I can inform the House officially that the remains of 75 Australian soldiers from that battle, recently buried at Fromelles, have been identified by name.

Where there are registered relatives for the identified soldiers, one of those relatives has now been contacted for each soldier. After waiting for nearly 94 years, those families now have some certainty. Of the 250 sets of remains uncovered and recently reburied at Fromelles, 203 have been found to be Australian. The work to identify them by name is continuing and we are hopeful that more soldiers will be identified.

I want to express the government’s gratitude to all of those involved in this Fromelles project: those who began the search, those who worked to excavate the site, those who worked on the reburials and those involved in the DNA identification process. It is only through the efforts of many dedicated people over many years that we have been able to locate and identify these remains. We hope that the certainty of a final resting place will be of comfort to the relatives of the fallen.

All but one of the soldiers from the burial site at Pheasant Wood have now been reburied in individual graves. The final soldier will be laid to rest at a commemorative event on the 94th anniversary of the Battle of Fromelles on 19 July this year. The new cemetery at Fromelles will be a fitting resting place for those who have given their lives for Australia in a brutal battle, and will no doubt become a place of pilgrimage and a lasting reminder to all Australians of the sacrifices in war of earlier generations.

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On indulgence, I support the remarks of the Prime Minister and note in passing the good work of the member for Dunkley, who, while Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, helped to launch these efforts. It is good news that 75 of the 1,400 lost diggers have now been identified. I am sure that will be of much consolation to their families. This is a poignant reminder to the rest of us of the sacrifices that so many young Australians made in World War I. Their sacrifices should never be forgotten.