Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party, Shadow Minister for International Development and the Pacific) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yesterday at the memorial service on the occasion of the 78th anniversary of the Kapooka tragedy, I witnessed, as did the others who were lucky enough to be present, one of the most inspirational scenes ever. Alan Evans got out of his wheelchair as his daughter Suzanne Christmas laid the wreath at the plinth. He struggled to get out of the chair but get out of the chair he did. He gave the salute. It was absolutely uplifting. It was truly remarkable. Here is a man who in one month's time will be 93 who served the regular Army from 1959 to 1980, who has given this nation his all. Yet despite the fact that only last week he was released from Wagga Wagga Base Hospital after a three-week stint from a heart attack and pneumonia, he still found the energy, he summoned the pluck, to stand and salute. The Kapooka tragedy: 26 lives lost—26 souls—the worst training accident in Australia's history. We pay honour to them. We say 'lest we forget', but I also pay tribute to Alan Evans, whose wife of 62 years, Nancy, was beside him. It truly was inspirational, and may he live to see many more services throughout the Riverina.