Monday 25 April 2022
Friday 20 March 2020
Anzac Day marches and many rememberance services cancelled for 25 April 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic
ABC News, 16 March 2020:
A number of states have moved to cancel some Anzac Day services and ban the public from attending others in an attempt to thwart the spread of coronavirus.
A selection of dawn services will be held across the country but the public will be asked not to attend. Any marches or midday services will be cancelled.
RSL Victoria state president Dr Robert Webster said it was not a decision taken lightly.
"Traditionally, many of us have marked Anzac Day by attending a dawn service at our local cenotaph or the Melbourne Shrine of Remembrance," he said
"But in 2020, on April 25, when you can't go to a local dawn service, the RSL is asking that instead you tune in via radio, social media or television and take a moment to reflect on the service and sacrifice of our veterans and those who are still serving today.".....
RSL Queensland president Tony Ferris said the move was designed to protect "our older veterans" who are particularly at risk, and said he was looking into alternative ways for people to commemorate the day.
"Regardless of the form this year's Anzac Day commemorations take, we will always remember the dedication, commitment and sacrifice of our Defence forces, past and present," Mr Ferris said.
Robert Dick, state president of RSL Tasmania, said he was hoping the public could empathise with the decision.
"Yes, we cop a lot of public flak over the issue, but we ask them to consider everybody else, not just themselves," he said.
Several states and territories are yet to make a firm decision about their respective services....
Wednesday 25 April 2018
Friday 29 April 2016
Disgraced Liberal MP blots his copy book again and another Liberal minister is found wanting
However, Robert is not the only fly in the election ointment.
On 26 April 2016 ABC News reported on Country Liberal Party Senator for the Northern Territory and Minister for Indigenous Affairs, Nigel Scullion:
Wednesday 27 April 2016
Australian Government asks Adelaide businessman to show the money
CONSULTING to Chartered Accounting firm.
MANAGING DIRECTOR of Fox Partners Pty Limited (Management buy-out 2005) Integrated Financial Services Business.
EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN of H Muecke & Co Pty Limited and Muecke Carrying Company Pty Limited (sold to P&O Ports Corp. United Kingdom in 2005)
Established in 1875, States oldest transport company.
EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN of Cartonics (SA) Pty Limited (sold to National retailer Nextbyte in 2005)
Original Telco.
Sunday 3 May 2015
Anzackery: ignorant flag wavers shouting down Australia's genuine and complex military, political and social history
[Extract from the war diary of Australian Second AIF soldier Eddie Allan Stanton in Richard J. Aldrich, 2014, The Faraway War: Personal Diaries Of The Second World War In Asia And The Pacific]
Thursday 25 April 2013
Saturday 28 April 2012
Janelle Saffin encourages all local veterans communities to tap into funding for Anzac Centenary commemorations and projects
- The refurbishment of war graves to ensure individual and collective memorials to our war dead, in Australia and overseas, are properly maintained.
- Funding for the running of commemorative services overseas during the Centenary;
- An Arts and Culture Fund to support individuals, artists and cultural institutions to develop commemorative displays and artistic creations that showcase our military history;
- A scoping study for a travelling exhibition or similar, that will take important memorabilia from the First World War and subsequent conflicts out to communities across Australia.
- Funding for the establishment of the Anzac Interpretive Centre at Albany, Western Australia, where the first convoys of Australian and New Zealand soldiers left for Egypt and Gallipoli.
Wednesday 25 April 2012
Monday 25 April 2011
ANZAC Day 2011: putting a face to the name
Australian Imperial Forces
The Figg Family descendants of May "Maisie" Webb nee Kirkland rejoice in the finding of a beloved brother of May Webb, an uncle to her children, grand-uncle to her grandchildren and, great-uncle and great-great-uncle to the younger generations alive today and one who has always been treasured in family memory.
Past acts of naval and military gallantry and valour revisited
The Australian Government Defence Honours and Awards Appeals Tribunal is holding an Inquiry Into Unresolved Recognition For Past Acts Of Naval And Military Gallantry And Valour.
The Tribunal has been directed to inquire into and report on the appropriate recognition for specific acts of gallantry or valour performed by the following naval and military personnel and make recommendations on the eligibility of the naval and military members, as listed, to be awarded the Victoria Cross, the Victoria Cross for Australia or other forms of appropriate recognition :
Gunner Albert Neil (Neale) Cleary - Army Aged 22, a prisoner of war who sought to escape after the infamous Sandakan death march in 1945. He was recaptured by Japanese guards and brutally beaten over a period of days before dying.
Midshipman Robert Ian Davies - Navy Aged 18, Australian-born sailor serving aboard the British battleship HMS Repulse. Attacked by Japanese aircraft off the coast of Malaya on December 10, 1941, he was last seen firing at the attackers as his gun position submerged.
Leading Cook Francis Bassett Emms - Navy Aged 32, a cook aboard HMAS Kara Kara, a boom gate vessel stationed in Darwin harbour at the time of the Japanese air attack on February 15, 1942. Despite severe wounds, he continued to fire a machine gun at attacking aircraft. He died en route to a hospital ship. His actions were considered comparable to British sailor Jack Mantle, awarded the VC for defending his ship from German air attack in 1940.
Lieutenant David John Hamer - Navy Gunnery officer aboard HMAS Australia during operations off the Philippines in 1945 when the ship came under repeated Japanese air attack. Over nine days, he calmly directed anti-aircraft defences. One attacking suicide aircraft passed within five metres of his head.
Private John Simpson Kirkpatrick - Army Aged 22, British-born soldier who achieved lasting fame on Gallipoli. Day and night, braving enemy fire he and his donkey carried wounded to the aid station. He was shot dead on May 19, 1915.
Lieutenant Commander Robert William Rankin - Navy Aged 36, commanded the sloop HMAS Yarra escorting a convoy of merchant ships back to Australia ahead of advancing Japanese forces. Spotting three Japanese heavy cruisers on March 4, 1942, he turned to attack in the hope of allowing the convoy to escape. Yarra's situation was hopeless and Rankin was killed shortly after ordering surviving crewmen to abandon ship.
Able Seaman Dalmorton Joseph Owendale Rudd - Navy One of 11 Australian sailors who participated in the attack on Zeebrugge, Belgium, on April 22-23, 1918. Essentially a commando raid, this was designed to seal off a canal allowing German submarines access to the sea.
Ordinary Seaman Edward Sheean - Navy Aged 18, a gun-loader aboard the Corvette HMAS Armidale which was attacked by Japanese aircraft off northern Australia on December 1, 1942. Although wounded, he shot down one Japanese bomber and was last seen still firing as Armidale disappeared under water.
Leading Aircrewman Noel Ervin Shipp - Navy Aged 24, a sailor attached to the Australian navy helicopter flight in Vietnam, then operating with a US helicopter unit. On May 31, 1969, he was a door gunner aboard a US helicopter gunship which came under intense enemy fire, with its pilot hit. Shipp was observed to continue firing on the enemy position right to the moment of impact which killed all aboard.
Lieutenant Commander Francis Edward Smith – Navy Aged 33, killed while serving as a gunnery officer aboard HMAS Yarra while directing a one-sided battle with superior Japanese warships. Born in Lismore on the NSW North Coast.
Lieutenant Commander Henry Hugh Gordon Stoker - Royal Navy Commanded the Australian submarine AE2 when it successfully penetrated the Dardanelles at the same time as Australian troops went ashore at Gallipoli. AE2 sank in the Sea Marmara and all aboard were taken prisoner.
Leading Seaman Ronald Taylor - Navy Aged 23, a sailor aboard HMAS Yarra who remained alone at his gun, firing continually until killed shortly before the ship sank.
Captain Hector Macdonald Laws Waller - Navy Aged 41, commander of the cruiser HMAS Perth which encountered a superior Japanese force in the Sunda Strait on February 29, 1942. Perth fought until all ammunition was gone and the ship was struck repeatedly by torpedoes. Captain Waller went down with his ship.
A second inquiry into prisoners of war killed while escaping or executed after recapture saw Ballina soldier Private William Forges Schuberth posthumously awarded a Commendation for Gallantry.
*Details of war service found at Towoomba News
Friday 25 April 2008
Dawn Services - where's ABC TV?
Hence, one has to ask why the national broadcaster, the ABC, did not see fit to provide a live television broadcast of a service.
Surely, it's not beyond the ABC's capacity to cover at least one of the services. Pay TV provided coverage of the service conducted in Sydney's Martin Place, but the vast majority of persons who may have been keen to watch a service don't have pay TV.
Photo: Penny Bradfield (The Age, 25 April 2008)
Saturday 19 April 2008
Naked man to draw attention to his raw deal
This year's Anzac Day march in Ballina in northern NSW will be something different. It will see an 89-year old man 'march' naked.
John MacGregor told The Northern Star that he will be 'marching' naked because all other efforts he has made to draw attention to his plight have produced blanks.Mr MacGregor, dismayed and angry about having his World War II service revoked, has decided to 'march' naked riding his mobility scooter draped in an Australian flag during the Anzac Day march at Ballina.
"I've let them know in Canberra that I'm intending to do something, but I shouldn't have to do all this," he said.
"There are 15 of us, it's not just for me, two of them died on duty and they've never been recognised.
"I've been fighting all my life and I will probably keep fighting."
Mr MacGregor worked with the Postmaster-General's Department and was part of a crew that established secure telephone lines across Torres Strait and the Gulf of Papua so that General MacArthur did not have to rely on radio in 1943.
The former engineer was recognised for his war service in 2004, and has been campaigning to have a purple star awarded to himself and the 14 others on this mission.
However, he recently found out that not only will he be denied his medal, but his war service has been revoked.
"I have a Gold Card as a military person, but that is dependent on my war service," he said.
"I'm aware of the fact that if they cancel my war service they might cancel my pension."
A request for medical compensation for war injuries was denied by the Veteran's Review Board, and in their refusal they stated:
"The Board noted that Mr MacGregor has previously been considered to have rendered 'operational service' during World War II as a civilian employee of the Postmaster-General's Department, but that this has now been revoked."
Mr MacGregor said the revocation was news to him and disputes the claim he was there as a civilian.
"We were working for the Allied Forces and if the Prime Minister of the day John Curtin is to be believed, he stated in his many press releases that 'any orders coming from General MacArthur, Supreme Commander Allied Forces Southwest Pacific Area, were to be regarded as coming from him'," he said.
"In fact, all of us in Australia were working for the Allied Forces."
Mr MacGregor has written to the Defence Minister and requested help from Federal Member for Page, Janelle Saffin.
A spokesperson for Ms Saffin said the MP is making representations on behalf of John MacGregor to the Veteran's Affairs Minister, but was yet to receive a response.
RSL Sub-branch rules state that Mr MacGregor cannot march as a returned serviceman with medals without proof of overseas service, but can march as an ex-serviceman, which the RSL recognises him for.
Mr MacGregor said he may take his fight to the High Court.
"I can take it to the High Court, but I have to get permission from the Chief Justice," he said.
Veterans Affairs would not comment on his case due to privacy reasons.