Jenny Macklin (Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Families and Payments) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On the back wall of St Margaret's Anglican Church, in Eltham, is an honour roll of those men and women from Eltham who served in World War I. There are 74 names inscribed on that honour roll and a red cross before each of the 13 names of the people who lost their lives in the conflict.

On 1 August this year I attended a service at St Margaret's commemorating the centenary of the August Offensive at Gallipoli, which included the Battle of Lone Pine, The Nek and Hill 60.

The ceremony provided an opportunity for the Eltham community to remember the soldiers from Eltham who served in the Gallipoli campaign. One of the names on that honour roll is Geoffrey Treacher Grant. He left Australia on 7 May, 1915, but the 19-year-old died three months later at Gallipoli at the Battle of the Nek on 7 August 1915.

I want to acknowledge Montmorency-Eltham RSL for putting together the moving service and, in particular, RSL President Bill McKenna; organiser Kathleen Toal; Reverend Clem Taplin; Parish historian Geoffrey Sandy; President of the Eltham District Historical Society Jim Connor; Turkish representative Oscar Yildiz; Sean Donehue, who sang both the Australian and New Zealand national anthems; and students from Eltham Primary School, who read out the names of those descendants who served. It was a very special day.