Browsing: ANZAC 2018

CROWDS flocked to Anzac Day commemorations at Mornington Peninsula towns last week. Organisers were thrilled with the huge turn-out of young people which they hope will ensure the future of the national event. Hastings RSL sub-branch president Keiren Gallagher said the day went “really well”. “The place was packed with 300-400 at the breakfast and more than 2000 at the main service,” he said. “It was hard to see how many we at the dawn service but I turned around to thank the scouts and school groups and saw a sea of young faces, which made me happy as they…

CROWDS flocked to Anzac Day commemorations at Mornington Peninsula towns last week. Organisers were thrilled with the huge turn-out of young people which they hope will ensure the future of the national event. “The day went very well,” Mornington RSL sub-branch president Allan Paynter said. “The dawn service was extra large with not a spot left on the lawn at Memorial Park, and we had 300 back for the Gunfire breakfast. “Up to 4000 attended the march along Main Street from Queen Street. It was a packed house.” Rosebud RSL sub-branch had about 2500 people at the dawn service, while…

WITH development of new parts of Hastings in the 1960s and 1970s, the decision was made to name many of streets in honour of  Royal Australian Navy vessels. This was probably due to the towns proximity to and connection with HMAS Cerberus, the navy’s premier train­ing establishment where about 6000 personnel are trained annually, averaging 800 trainees at Cerberus at any one time. In following pages we look at Hastings’ “navy streets”, but first a bit of history. The Commonwealth Naval Forces were established on 1 March 1901, two months after the federation of Australia. On 10 July 1911, King…

WHILE not a great deal is known about the development of Bittern and Crib Point, it is obvious that the area was subdivided after the First World War. The developers sought to honour those who had served in the war by the names they gave the streets and troads. Many streets in the two towns are named after Victoria Cross recipients, which was done to honour their sacrifice in the “Great War”. The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration and is awarded for valour “in the face of the enemy” to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth…

ABOUT 300,000 Australians volunteered to serve their country between 1914 and 1918; this from a nation of fewer than five million people. Most saw service on the Western Front: in Belgium (Flanders) or along the River Somme in France. About 52,000 died and are buried there. In the postwar years in Australia, whenever a new area was being developed it was common, almost mandatory, to honour our war dead by naming the streets after famous Western Front battles in which Australians had participated. The trapezium-shaped area in Bittern bordered by South Beach Rd (to the west), Disney St (south), Trafalgar…

ANZAC Day 2018 will see a bluestone paver dedicated to VC recipient George Morby Ingram. But who was this man, and why is he being honoured? George Morby Ingram was born in Bendigo in 1889, but lived much of his life in Hastings. He died in 1961 and is buried in Frankston cemetery. On 4 October 1918, the 24th Battalion took part in the attack that captured the Beaurevoir sector in France, and was, therefore, expecting to have a rest the following day when the unit was unexpectedly ordered to take part in another attack. The assault was to starts…