Unveiling, Dedication & Donation of the North Bondi War Memorial

27 November 2011

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The Australian War Memorial in Canberra is presented a special anniversary exhibition to honour the ‘Rats of Tobruk’ from 18 March – 16 Novemeber 2011.

Visit the Website to Read More >

http://www.awm.gov.au/exhibitions/tobruk/

Australian War Memorial

Treloar Crescent
Campbell ACT 2612
AUSTRALIA

Exhibition dates
18 March 2011 – 16 November 2011

FEATURED IMAGE:
Source: Australian War Memorial, http://cas.awm.gov.au/item/020286
Members of the 2/17 infantry battalion are enjoying a smoke while they scan the horizon for signs of enemy activity. They are part of the ‘Bush Artillery’ and are operating a captured Italian 75/27 model 06 field gun. Identified, from left to right: unidentified; NX60436 Sergeant (Sgt) Henry Eddington Zouch; NX65985 Sgt Charles Edward Lemaire (later awarded the Military Medal); NX17811 Corporal (Cpl) Leslie Jack McCarthy; unidentified.

The magnificent new War Memorial stands in place of the original War Memorial.

Overlooking the new Memorial from the RSL balcony, Sub-Branch Trustee Fred Hyland JP (pictured) recalled the construction of the origninal memorial;

“we came down here with a couple of mates from the club who were brickies and put it up”.

If you have photos or memories to share of the original North Bondi War Memorial, please post a comment below,
or contact us here, or email: info@tobrukhouse.com.

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<< Sub Branch Member Nick Wiesener (far right) with his parents and grandfather who is a WWII Army veteran.

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View photos from the War Memorial Unveiling Ceremony here >

 
The Australian War Memorial houses an extensive archive of photos an objects from the Siege of Tobruk.

Categories of items include:

• Art: 13
• Film: 12
• Heraldry: 157
• Manuscript: 7
• Photograph: 1,361
• Private Record: 47
• Sound: 7
• Technology: 16

07 November 2011 by Carlie Walker.
Source: http://www.awm.gov.au/blog/2011/11/07/tobruk-diaries-%E2%80%9Ci-hope-we-will-not-hear-another-shot-fired%E2%80%9D/

Bryant’s diary:  Friday 7^th November 1941

The shooting with the Bren was rotten and on the whole I had a cow of a day as an instructor.  I heard that the rifle shooting was pretty good.

Cosgriff’s diary:  Friday 7 November 1941

Up at 6:30 for early breakfast.  Major Ralph and I to Cairo together.  Train crammed mostly with English and Aus. troops.  Filthy hot journey and not into Cairo until 2 pm.  Met Len and Cravocour at Houseboat.  To pay office – met Gregory now a Lieut.  Measured for gabardine* uniform.  Bought watches at Kramer’s and handled 750 pounds worth of diamonds.  Coffee at Groppi’s – great place, met Lendon and Morton.  I paid 50 accas for set of uniform buttons.  Otis has a movie camera, price 9 pounds.  Walked to presbytery after dinner and met Fr. Zarime – cheery bloke and talkative.  Sharing cabin with Roberts…

Bryant’s diary:  Saturday 8^th November 1941

Duty Company today and I was on drain digging all day.  Of course we didn’t work so very hard.

Cosgriff’s diary:  Saturday 8^th November 1941

Up early and Mass at 7:30 in beautiful church – Len serving.  Morning in bazaar – bought book-stand – silks, table cloths and Elsa’s stones.  Great place and I must go back again.  To races at Gezira this arvo and I backed a placed horse in every race except one.  Plenty of fancy English officers in flash uniforms.  Met Tim but a funny bloke – quite cold but he gave me a job at the detention barracks in Jerusalem.  Len’s aim pretty crook.  Ross Thomas on the ship here.  Cravocour is all right and he shunted Braithwaite for breaking the 12 o’clock rule.  John Overall here too and all told a good crowd.  We start in Jerusalem on Wednesday and 40 orderlies have to make way for VADs…

Bryant’s diary:  Sunday 9^th November 1941

The 7^th Bn of the Green Howards gave an exhibition at Hill 95 of falling on barbed wire.  Until one saw it done it was hard to believe possible.  They actually dived in to the wire with their bodies to make a gap enough for the platoon to run through.

Cosgriff’s diary:  Sunday 9^th November 1941

Mass on high altar after the Public Mass.  Rudd, Morton and Lendon returning today.  Kilo arrived and nobody wants him – probably a bowler-hat.  Into town this morning – just for a look round and a drink at Groppi’s – the usual crowd but one beautiful Gyppo woman – dressed in white – and the French infants waving to their dog.  Marvellous dinner today.  Races at Heliopolis but too far for me.  Wrote home and then to the club for tea.  Big crowd but too cold for swimming today.  Party on the “Sudan” tonight.  Len went but early bed for me.  Allison brought me a couple of letters from Kantara - Jas McGlynn and home…

Bryant’s diary:  Monday 10^th November 1941

The Company had to march to an Arab village as a demonstration to the local Mukstar, who was entertained.  His village was inspected by our…officer and after a march through the village we returned to camp.

Cosgriff’s diary:  Monday 10^th November 1941

Mass at Church.  Afterwards to Convent to see if sisters will sew our parcels.  They have no Mass so I will go there now – 300 pupils – mostly non-catholic – school and convent combined – buses to collect kids cost 70 pound a month.  Irish Franciscan sisters.  Golf today and we were both in rotten form but I improved later.  Gyppo caddies no good as they will not look for balls.  Beautiful course – well set out – springy turf and plenty of flower beds.  Slept after lunch then to tailor for uniform – despite my instructions he made the epaulettes wrongly.  Had to wait an hour for new ones – quite a glamour suit.  To pictures tonight and Len asked the pretty French girl for a seat where he could sleep well.  Start at 9:15 – poor show – had to leave to beat midnight…

Bryant’s diary:  Tuesday 11^th November 1941

We were duty Coy and I was on guard at the Mobile Ambulance Corps.  I go on two days leave to Haifa in the morning.

Cosgriff’s diary:  Tuesday 11^th November 1941  

Up at 6 – hope to convert lads with parcels.  After Mass a good breakfast – grape – fruit – 3 eggs and plenty of bacon.  Long week home.  Golf shocking today and language worse.  Len lost a pill on the fairway and suspected the caddy.  Letter from Joshua re Honell RIP and I can supply information.  To town this arvo with Otiss films – Groppi’s – home.  Len dining at Shepherd’s tonight.  War news encouraging and I hope we will not hear another shot fired.  Roberts my cabin-mate – a lead-swinger at Tobruk had his leave here extended… Salter blew in this evening.  Bought Cecil’s book on Egypt.  Cravocour expected a bloke who arrived at 12.12am…

Bryant’s diary:  Wednesday 12^th November 1941

A man was substituted for me for the Haifa leave and I didn’t hear about it until the last minute.  I thought this action was a bit tough.

Cosgriff’s diary:  Wednesday 12 November 1941 

Up before six and walked to the convent – 15 mins.  Parcels all ready and were seven.  No golf today as Len had a heavy night.  Into town looking about – India – silks etc.  To Bazaar for silks and were lost looking for Hessians.  Found jeweller and he directed us…  Saw the famous rugs – sultans 1800 pound Gold 500 pound and Blood 420 pound – all very beautiful.  Parcels very easy to send at…PO.  After lunch in to the pictures to see Marx Bros.  Home for tea and writing to Franz – forget to tell her many things.  Bed early and Len too…

Bryant’s diary:  Thursday 13^th November 1941

They made up for it – I’m to go on seven days leave to Cairo tonight instead.

Cosgriff’s diary:  Thursday 13 November 1941 

Enjoying early morning crack.  School holiday today so I yarned with sisters for a long time.  Their convent at Fayoum bombed last night but sisters all safe…  Into town – saw some great chinaware… To races at Heliopolis – met Tim and O’Carroll.  Won 5 pound on first race – divided to 2 pound 40 at finish – good course.  With Kilo and Thomas and they are horrible bars both.  I had a headache from listening to them and I went early to bed.  Len and McKenna went to the Continental after seeing Mary’s – transferred from Alex.  Tim and I argued today re Jack Higgins and Harold Jones case – too Irish to argue.  Letter from Otis and we have not opened Jerusalem yet…

*Tough, tightly woven fabric used to make suits

21 November 2011 by Carlie Walker.
Source: http://www.awm.gov.au/blog/2011/11/21/tobruk-diaries-all-about-bryant/

Bryant’s diary:  Friday 21^st November 1941

The train left Cairo in the morning for Kantara.  We arrived at mid-day but the train doesn’t leave until 9 o’clock tonight, so I paid a visit to the hospital and looked up some of our friends.  Our officer in charge of the leave party worked his head and convinced the R.T.O. that there was not enough room and we have to stay at the staging camp for a few days.  This means a visit to Port Said.

Bryant’s diary:  Saturday 22^nd November 1941

The O.C. Staging Camp granted us all leave to Port Said for three days.  It was easy to get a life from Kantara.  I spent the day very quietly.  Port Said puts Haifa in second place for the best city in the Middle East.  The prices are cheaper that (sic) any other place, it is cleaner and at last there is a place where Australians are popular with the locals.

Bryant’s diary:  Sunday 23^rd November 1941

Visited Port Fouad and had a very lazy day.

Bryant’s diary:  Monday 24^th November 1941

We returned to Kantara but we are still being held up on account of a large number of troops passing through from Aussie.

Bryant’s diary:  Tuesday 25^th November 1941

Troops still kept passing through but we got away in the night all right.  We travelled first-class.

Bryant’s diary:  Wednesday 26^th November 1941

We reached camp at about 5:30 this morning and I had the honour of being orderly corporal for the day.  The Sjt-Major (“Gertie” Cortis) is an old woman and a…nuisance.

Bryant’s diary:  Thursday 27^th November 1941

A route march in the morning and sports in the afternoon.

Wentworth Courier

• Rice, Margaret, Symbol of courage at North Bondi war memorial (27 September 2011)

Eastern Suburbs Spectator

• New war memorial for Bondi (2 Sept. 2011)

Wentworth Courier

• Bates, Robert, Jack Johnson supports Sydney Marine Park (14 December 2010)

Spectator

• Immortalising Veterans’ Memories (5 March 2010)

Navy News

• Brooke, Michael, Heroes of the Pacific Remembered (18 February 2010)

Sydney Morning Herald

• Emily Dunn and Elicia Murphy, Girls’ wild night at teen awards (14 August 2008)

Daily Telegraph

• Moran, Jonathan, Jade’s a gem with flaws (Gin’s in the pink) (22 June 2008)

The Sydney Morning Herald

• Taylor, Andrew, North Bondi RSL Club (18 Jun 2008)

Sydney Morning Herald

• Nixon, Sherrill, Multimillionaire nails his colours to the flagpole (3 January 2006)

New York Times

• Borden, Margaret, Bondi, Beyond The Beach (16 Nov 2003)

Now the words of the first Aboriginal commissioned officer in the Australian army will feature in a new war memorial at Sydney’s Bondi Beach.

The memorial, to be unveiled on Sunday morning by the North Bondi RSL Sub-Branch, features three black granite walls and a large S-shaped sculpture made of glass, stainless steel and stone.

Emblazoned on one of these walls will be the words of Captain Saunders, MBE, from when he fought at Kapyong in the Korean War on April 24, 1951.

“On Anzac eve we dug in among friends. At last I felt like an ANZAC, and imagine there were 600 other like me,” the plaque reads.

Captain Saunders died in 1990.

Norbert Keough, honorary secretary of the sub-branch, said members felt it was important to pay tribute to the Indigenous community.

“There aren’t that many war memorials that we are aware of that are devoted to Indigenous memorials,” Mr Keough said.

“For the first time Reginald Saunders felt like an equal … they are powerful words.”

Mr Keough said it was hoped the memorial, which cost close to $500,000, would serve as a focal point for remembrance in Sydney.

“We have the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, and we figured we really needed to have something special in Sydney.”

The sculpture features 20 plaques describing incidents in each war Australia has participated in, and a plaque dedicated to peacekeeping.

The two other black granite walls include the names, ranks, and images of Australia’s Victoria Cross recipients.

A Seahawk helicopter, provided by the navy’s Fleet Air Arm, will perform a flyover during the unveiling ceremony, while bugles will sound the Last Post and Reveille.

AAP

By Tracker, November 16, 2011
Read Article here: tracker.org.au
FEATURED IMAGE: Australian War Memorial