Russell Broadbent (McMillan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last Sunday, I was honoured to be present at the opening of a place of reflection, an Anzac memorial put together by the people of Leongatha. Particularly involved in this exercise were Lyn Skillern, the coordinator of the Leongatha Historical Society; Anne Davies from the RSL; Mark Paterson, builder and member of the reserve committee, acting in his capacity as rec reserve member; Penny Ellicott from the shire; and Troy Williams from Williams Signs.

It is a beautiful place—modern in the capacity of today's memorials. It has four parts to it, where all 330 names from the Great War of 1914-18 are now displayed. The rotunda is placed at the beginning of the avenue of honour, which was beautifully planted and cared for by the women and children of the district in Leongatha, and that avenue of honour is still there, going past the Murray Goulburn factory all the way into Leongatha.

Major General David McLachlan, the head of the RSL, is a great friend of Gippsland. As I opened the place, I said to him: 'David, we're glad to have you and your wife here in Gippsland, especially in the heart of west Gippsland in Leongatha. I know that Gippsland is your favourite area to visit, but you can't tell the rest of Victoria!' He is such an adornment to the work that the RSL does in Victoria and the RSL does for communities throughout Victoria, but especially the RSL in Leongatha.

There were so many gathered there that day at the place of reflection. They were all the families of those who currently live in Leongatha and district. But this was not particularly about the district; it was specifically about those who went to war from Leongatha. The Battle of Fromelles on 19 July 1916 caused the community of Leongatha and district much sadness and grief. I have spoken about the grief of those two world wars and other wars since that continue today, in my opinion. In this respect, perhaps the town was a microcosm for the nation. Over 5,500 Australians became casualties during that bloodthirsty event. On this memorial are the names of nine men who died as a result of the battle and two who died in the lead up to the battle. Harry Kossim was on guard duty when he fell from a moving train and was killed. Jack Daniel, formerly a junior school teacher at Leongatha Primary School, was killed by stray shell on 15 July.

This was a great event, held and loved by the community. The names of these men are still synonymous with the local area. There were boys named after their uncles—the late Jack Edny and Phil Bellingham who were killed in action on 19 July. (Time expired)