ANZAC Day service 2019
Kingston
9:00AM
Following the welcome by Julie Baulch, Creswick-Smeaton RSL President Alan Morris lead the RSL service.
Introduced by Cr. Greg May, young Kingston local Ailish Murphy, spoke about her relative who are commemorated in the Avenue.
Thank you Cr May, and good morning everyone. today I would like to read to you the words of Tom Kettle just 4 days before he was killed in 1916.
Kingston
9:00AM
Following the welcome by Julie Baulch, Creswick-Smeaton RSL President Alan Morris lead the RSL service.
Introduced by Cr. Greg May, young Kingston local Ailish Murphy, spoke about her relative who are commemorated in the Avenue.
Thank you Cr May, and good morning everyone. today I would like to read to you the words of Tom Kettle just 4 days before he was killed in 1916.
To My Daughter Bertty:
The Gift of God
In wise days my darling rosebud, blown
To beauty proud as was your mother's prime,
In that desired, delayed, incredible time,
You'll ask why I abandoned you, my own,
And the dear heart that was your baby throne,
To dice with death. And oh! they'll give you rhyme.
And reason: some will call the thing sublime.
And some decry it in a knowing tone.
So here, while mad guns curse overhead,
And tired men sign with mud for couch and floor,
Know that we fools, now the foolish dead,
Died nor for flag, nor King , nor Emperor, ----
But for a dream born in a herdman's shed,
And for the secret scripture of the poor.
The Gift of God
In wise days my darling rosebud, blown
To beauty proud as was your mother's prime,
In that desired, delayed, incredible time,
You'll ask why I abandoned you, my own,
And the dear heart that was your baby throne,
To dice with death. And oh! they'll give you rhyme.
And reason: some will call the thing sublime.
And some decry it in a knowing tone.
So here, while mad guns curse overhead,
And tired men sign with mud for couch and floor,
Know that we fools, now the foolish dead,
Died nor for flag, nor King , nor Emperor, ----
But for a dream born in a herdman's shed,
And for the secret scripture of the poor.
These words ring in my head today for I am the great grand-daughter of John Murphy; a name that graces one of the nearly three-hundred trees that surround us now and I would love to share with your the story of his and his brother James.
In about 1870 a man name Pat Murphy left his home in County Clare in Ireland to emigrate to a new one her in Australia. Pat married a woman named jane Slade and together they live in a house on Smokey town road, Springmount, not far from what is now the CAFS Farm. There Pat reared pigs and made poteen whiskey form springmount Spuds, they weren't exactly squatocaracy.
Pat and Jane had seven children and in 1915 two of those children: John and James came home with the news that they were joining The Australian Imperial Forces. This news, however was not received with pride. Pat was an Irish Catholic, working class man and thought of his sons fighting England's was was quite a haunting one. He even swore not to forgive them if they did.
John and James were not swayed though, and in the AIF, as part to the 29th Battalion, they shipped off to Egypt, then found themselves of the the battlefields of Northern France and Belgium including the fiery furnace of Fromelle and the bleak winter of Flanders fields.
In the war's final year, a brutal period of time, the 29th Battalion had been decimated and, as such, was combined with the 32nd. It was also in this year the the Murphy's made what was probably quite a good career choice for a World War One soldier, and trained to become cooks for the Battalion.
That year they both came home to these hills.
John lived out the life of a good hardworking man. He went to church every Sunday morning and spent this Sunday afternoon fixing the boots of Springmount folk in his blacksmith's shed. He and his wife Alice had six children, one of whom was my beloved Grandfather"Big Jack".
His brother James didn't experience the same fortune. the horrific effects of gas attacks during the war were what brought about his end in 1936 when his lungs gave out at the Caulfield Repat Hospital.
Two parts of this story hit me particularly hard. The first is the postcards that hang on the walls in my home whose worlds ask of family and home and tell of the boys from home who they crossed paths with on the other side of the world. To think of these words written over 100 years ago about community and look out today at mine gathered amongst these peaceful rees as we gather to remember, fills me with joy.
And secondly; the story of Pat , a father who felt betrayed by his boys, who never saw them again. Pat died six months before the war came to a close. His memory makes me hope. It makes me hope that in the end he forgave them and that one day we will wake up in a world where his story is not familiar.
I think Pat did forgive them, and that it is with peace the he lies resting in his unmarked grave at Creswick Cemetery because his boys weren't really fighting for the English Monarch that Pat felt no loyalty to, but for "a dream born in a herdsman's shed, and for the secret scripture of the poor".
Several Wreaths were then laid at the Cenotaph and the service ended with a hot cup of coffee and Rum.
In about 1870 a man name Pat Murphy left his home in County Clare in Ireland to emigrate to a new one her in Australia. Pat married a woman named jane Slade and together they live in a house on Smokey town road, Springmount, not far from what is now the CAFS Farm. There Pat reared pigs and made poteen whiskey form springmount Spuds, they weren't exactly squatocaracy.
Pat and Jane had seven children and in 1915 two of those children: John and James came home with the news that they were joining The Australian Imperial Forces. This news, however was not received with pride. Pat was an Irish Catholic, working class man and thought of his sons fighting England's was was quite a haunting one. He even swore not to forgive them if they did.
John and James were not swayed though, and in the AIF, as part to the 29th Battalion, they shipped off to Egypt, then found themselves of the the battlefields of Northern France and Belgium including the fiery furnace of Fromelle and the bleak winter of Flanders fields.
In the war's final year, a brutal period of time, the 29th Battalion had been decimated and, as such, was combined with the 32nd. It was also in this year the the Murphy's made what was probably quite a good career choice for a World War One soldier, and trained to become cooks for the Battalion.
That year they both came home to these hills.
John lived out the life of a good hardworking man. He went to church every Sunday morning and spent this Sunday afternoon fixing the boots of Springmount folk in his blacksmith's shed. He and his wife Alice had six children, one of whom was my beloved Grandfather"Big Jack".
His brother James didn't experience the same fortune. the horrific effects of gas attacks during the war were what brought about his end in 1936 when his lungs gave out at the Caulfield Repat Hospital.
Two parts of this story hit me particularly hard. The first is the postcards that hang on the walls in my home whose worlds ask of family and home and tell of the boys from home who they crossed paths with on the other side of the world. To think of these words written over 100 years ago about community and look out today at mine gathered amongst these peaceful rees as we gather to remember, fills me with joy.
And secondly; the story of Pat , a father who felt betrayed by his boys, who never saw them again. Pat died six months before the war came to a close. His memory makes me hope. It makes me hope that in the end he forgave them and that one day we will wake up in a world where his story is not familiar.
I think Pat did forgive them, and that it is with peace the he lies resting in his unmarked grave at Creswick Cemetery because his boys weren't really fighting for the English Monarch that Pat felt no loyalty to, but for "a dream born in a herdsman's shed, and for the secret scripture of the poor".
Several Wreaths were then laid at the Cenotaph and the service ended with a hot cup of coffee and Rum.
Creswick Cemetery Service 2019
The Creswick Cemetery Service was held at the Veterans Graves and conducted by Creswick-Smeaton RSL Vice-President Ken McMillian
The Creswick Cemetery Service was held at the Veterans Graves and conducted by Creswick-Smeaton RSL Vice-President Ken McMillian
|
|
|
|
|
Memorial Stones Service - RSL Hall 2019
The service at the Memorial Stones was conducted by Creswick-Smeaton RSL President Alan Morris and the wreath was laid by RSL member Jack Sewell and Hepburn Shire CEO Evan King
The service at the Memorial Stones was conducted by Creswick-Smeaton RSL President Alan Morris and the wreath was laid by RSL member Jack Sewell and Hepburn Shire CEO Evan King
|
|
|
|
|
Creswick March & Service 2019
Creswick ANZAC Day March
Creswick ANZAC Day Service
Creswick-Smeaton RSL President Alan Morris - MC
Distinguished guests
The Commanding Officer Defence International Training Centre and International Guests.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and girls
Welcome to our 2019 Anzac service
We would like to acknowledge we are meeting on Jaara people country, of which members and elders of the Dja Dja Wurrung community and their forebears have been custodians for many centuries.
On this land, the Jaara people have performed age old ceremonies of celebration, initiation and renewal.
We acknowledge their living culture and their unique role in the life of this region.
We meet here today, not to glorify war or praise victors, but to remember those who have served our country during times of conflict and crisis, and to reflect upon their selfless sacrifice.
To all Australians, ANZAC day is a tradition, paid for in blood and celebrated in our freedom. It is a day in which not only do we salute the ANZACs, but in paying tribute to them, we also take the opportunity to invigorate our national spirit and pride.
On this day, in 1915, a group of volunteer Australian and New Zealand soldiers found themselves wading ashore before dawn at a small beach on the Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey. Many of these men were only teenagers, some as young as 16. All were anxious to prove their courage and national identity.
Over the eight months following the landing, those young ANZACs underwent a ‘trial by ordeal’. In total 36,000 Australian and New Zealand soldiers were killed or wounded at Gallipoli. But in those terrible battles, young Australians earned a reputation for courage, self-reliance and mateship.
We pause today to acknowledge all current and former members of our defence forces – the brave men and women who represent our country on a daily basis. We have seen our personnel serve in Australia and overseas carrying on the spirit of ANZAC. We must not forget today’s veterans’, the young men and women who are returning from duty in places like Afghanistan.
ANZAC Day is a day to remember all men and women of the Australian Defence Force, regardless of the time they served. On ANZAC Day we pay tribute to all current and former members of the Australian Defence Force, those lost in training, on operations, the wounded, injured and ill. The ANZAC spirit forged at Gallipoli will never be forgotten. This is why Australians come together every ANZAC day. We do it to remember the ANZACs and their achievements; and we should remember them not as old soldiers from a distant war, but as the young Australians they were in 1915.
Our vast country with its harsh beauty and open skies, helps to shape healthy, confident, competitive, and freedom loving individuals, who with good leadership and high motivation, can more than match the best in the world; in whatever they do. The ANZACs showed us these same qualities.
We have the ability to face challenges together and overcome them, to put community before self, to be courageous, determined, self-reliant and strong. We should be proud of our heritage. This is the spirit of ANZAC; the spirit that we must pass to the next generations.
Creswick-Smeaton RSL President Alan Morris - MC
Distinguished guests
The Commanding Officer Defence International Training Centre and International Guests.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and girls
Welcome to our 2019 Anzac service
We would like to acknowledge we are meeting on Jaara people country, of which members and elders of the Dja Dja Wurrung community and their forebears have been custodians for many centuries.
On this land, the Jaara people have performed age old ceremonies of celebration, initiation and renewal.
We acknowledge their living culture and their unique role in the life of this region.
We meet here today, not to glorify war or praise victors, but to remember those who have served our country during times of conflict and crisis, and to reflect upon their selfless sacrifice.
To all Australians, ANZAC day is a tradition, paid for in blood and celebrated in our freedom. It is a day in which not only do we salute the ANZACs, but in paying tribute to them, we also take the opportunity to invigorate our national spirit and pride.
On this day, in 1915, a group of volunteer Australian and New Zealand soldiers found themselves wading ashore before dawn at a small beach on the Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey. Many of these men were only teenagers, some as young as 16. All were anxious to prove their courage and national identity.
Over the eight months following the landing, those young ANZACs underwent a ‘trial by ordeal’. In total 36,000 Australian and New Zealand soldiers were killed or wounded at Gallipoli. But in those terrible battles, young Australians earned a reputation for courage, self-reliance and mateship.
We pause today to acknowledge all current and former members of our defence forces – the brave men and women who represent our country on a daily basis. We have seen our personnel serve in Australia and overseas carrying on the spirit of ANZAC. We must not forget today’s veterans’, the young men and women who are returning from duty in places like Afghanistan.
ANZAC Day is a day to remember all men and women of the Australian Defence Force, regardless of the time they served. On ANZAC Day we pay tribute to all current and former members of the Australian Defence Force, those lost in training, on operations, the wounded, injured and ill. The ANZAC spirit forged at Gallipoli will never be forgotten. This is why Australians come together every ANZAC day. We do it to remember the ANZACs and their achievements; and we should remember them not as old soldiers from a distant war, but as the young Australians they were in 1915.
Our vast country with its harsh beauty and open skies, helps to shape healthy, confident, competitive, and freedom loving individuals, who with good leadership and high motivation, can more than match the best in the world; in whatever they do. The ANZACs showed us these same qualities.
We have the ability to face challenges together and overcome them, to put community before self, to be courageous, determined, self-reliant and strong. We should be proud of our heritage. This is the spirit of ANZAC; the spirit that we must pass to the next generations.
As is our custom today we honour another of our local heroes.
Francis Craymore Whitfield was born in Creswick and working as a law clerk when at the age of 29 he enlisted at Ballarat on 26th July 1915. Francis joined the 8th Battalion on 24 Feb 1916 at Zeitoun in Egypt.
He was promoted to temporary corporal on 29th Feb and embarked on HMT Megantic on 26th March 1916, and disembarked at Marseilles on 31st March.
On 5th May he was promoted to corporal and then promoted to sergeant on 18th August.
4 days later Sergeant Whitfield was wounded in the head on 22nd August and was transferred to the 44th Casualty Clearing Station where on the 26th August he died of his wounds.
He is buried in the British Cemetery, Plot 2, Row E, Grave 62 at Puchervilles which is 7.5 miles southeast of Boullens in France.
Sgt Whitfield was awarded the 1914-15 Star, British War Medal and the Victory Medal
Francis had declared that his father was his Next of Kin (NOK) on his enlistment papers and his wife, Caroline had to go to great lengths to prove that she was in fact his NOK. The Base records office in Melbourne received a letter from Sir Alexander Peacock who was Premier at the time on behalf of Caroline. It was eventually sorted out after Caroline produced their wedding certificate and the records were set straight. Caroline Whitfield received a memorial plaque, scroll and his medals in 1922.
There is a medallion that was presented by the citizens of Creswick on display in the RSL Hall.
Francis Craymore Whitfield was born in Creswick and working as a law clerk when at the age of 29 he enlisted at Ballarat on 26th July 1915. Francis joined the 8th Battalion on 24 Feb 1916 at Zeitoun in Egypt.
He was promoted to temporary corporal on 29th Feb and embarked on HMT Megantic on 26th March 1916, and disembarked at Marseilles on 31st March.
On 5th May he was promoted to corporal and then promoted to sergeant on 18th August.
4 days later Sergeant Whitfield was wounded in the head on 22nd August and was transferred to the 44th Casualty Clearing Station where on the 26th August he died of his wounds.
He is buried in the British Cemetery, Plot 2, Row E, Grave 62 at Puchervilles which is 7.5 miles southeast of Boullens in France.
Sgt Whitfield was awarded the 1914-15 Star, British War Medal and the Victory Medal
Francis had declared that his father was his Next of Kin (NOK) on his enlistment papers and his wife, Caroline had to go to great lengths to prove that she was in fact his NOK. The Base records office in Melbourne received a letter from Sir Alexander Peacock who was Premier at the time on behalf of Caroline. It was eventually sorted out after Caroline produced their wedding certificate and the records were set straight. Caroline Whitfield received a memorial plaque, scroll and his medals in 1922.
There is a medallion that was presented by the citizens of Creswick on display in the RSL Hall.
Our guest speaker today is Mr Kieth Abrams – Monash and the modern society.
**********************************
Ladies and Gentlemen we now have a selection of poems to be read by students from our local schools.
Creswick PS - The Crosses - Mackenzie Peek and Marcus Envall
Nth Creswick PS - Smalltown Memorial
St. Augustines PS - Taking a stand – Sam Crilly & Lily Everard
Newlyn PS - Photograph
Ladies and Gentlemen we now have a selection of poems to be read by students from our local schools.
Creswick PS - The Crosses - Mackenzie Peek and Marcus Envall
Nth Creswick PS - Smalltown Memorial
St. Augustines PS - Taking a stand – Sam Crilly & Lily Everard
Newlyn PS - Photograph
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Crosses
by Bill Mitton I stood there before the crosses glowing white in row on row Everyone a young life cut short as the names upon them show. The dates they died below the names tell of wars now passed and gone Passchendaele, the Somme, and Mons of battles fought, and lost or won. History remembers, as it should these men who fought and died Whilst for their families left behind a dull sorrow tinged with pride. The faces of boys held now in Sepia who died in days long gone yet living on in memories and hearts, still holding on. Yet despite the hurt and grief here what with horror makes me fill Is that when I look behind me there are more new crosses growing still. |
Smalltown Memorials
by Geoff Page 1975 No matter how small Every town has one; Maybe just the obelisk, A few names inlaid; More often full-scale granite, Marble digger (arms reversed), Long descending lists of dead: Sometimes not even a town, A thickening of houses Or a few unlikely trees Glimpsed on a back road Will have one. 1919, 1920: All over the country; Maybe a band, slow march; Mayors, shire councils; Relatives for whom Print was already Only print; mates, Come back, moving Into unexpected days; A ring of Fords and sulkies; The toned-down bit Of Billy Hughes from an Ex-recruiting sergeant. Unveiled; Then seen each day -- Noticed once a year; And then not always, Everywhere. The next bequeathed us Parks and pools But something in that first Demanded stone. |
Taking a Stand
By John Bailey I ask you to stand with me For both the injured and the lost I ask you to keep count with me Of all the wars and what they cost I ask you to be silent with me Quietly grateful for our lot As I expect you’re as thankful as me For the health and life we’ve got I ask that you wish them well with me All those still risking their all And I ask that you remember with me The names of those that fall I expect that you are proud like me Of this great nation of ours too So enjoying all its freedoms like me Support those upholding them for you I hope that you are hopeful like me That we’ll soon bring an end to wars So you’ll have to stand no more with me And mourning families no different from yours ‘ Til then be thankful you can stand with me Thinking of those who now cannot For standing here today with me At least we show they’re not forgot |
Photograph
by Peter Kocan Sometimes in the homes of the elderly, Among the shabby, cherished possessions You will find a framed photograph Of a young man in quaint uniform. Slouch-hatted, posing with a full gaze. ‘My brother Jim. He went to the war …’ And something in the aged voice conveys The unspoken ‘and didn’t come home’ … The minds wherein he is enshrined As son, brother, neighbour, friend, grow fewer. Those brief, sliding minutes on the wharf Have become sixty years. Now in a musty room somewhere, An old person makes a cup of tea And a not-yet anonymous soldier Stares out of the photograph. |
**********************************
Hymn. Abide with Me. With Giuliana D’Appio
Abide with me, fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens;
Lord with me abide’
When other helpers fail and comfort flee,
Help of the helpless,
O abide with me.
I need thy presence every passing hour.
What for the grace can foil the tempter’s power
Who, like thyself, my guide and stay can be,
Through cloud and sunshine;
Lord abide with me.
Hymn. Abide with Me. With Giuliana D’Appio
Abide with me, fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens;
Lord with me abide’
When other helpers fail and comfort flee,
Help of the helpless,
O abide with me.
I need thy presence every passing hour.
What for the grace can foil the tempter’s power
Who, like thyself, my guide and stay can be,
Through cloud and sunshine;
Lord abide with me.
Prayer - Father Colin Griffiths, Anglican Church
Defence International Training Centre and 100 International Guests.
Our International guest are from all three services, who are currently competing courses at the International Training Centre at Laverton, they certainly added colour to the occasion. They were very impressive in their immaculate uniforms of different styles and colour from sixteen countries from the Middle Eastern, South East Asian and South West Pacific regions.
Our International guest are from all three services, who are currently competing courses at the International Training Centre at Laverton, they certainly added colour to the occasion. They were very impressive in their immaculate uniforms of different styles and colour from sixteen countries from the Middle Eastern, South East Asian and South West Pacific regions.
|
Laying of Wreaths
On behalf of The Hon Catherine King MP - Nick Beaver - Kirsty Marshall for Dawn Service Ms Louise Staley MP for Ripon Hepburn Shire Mayor Don Henderson Creswick-Smeaton RSL C.O Defence International Training Centre Students Defence International Training Centre Creswick Light Horse Troop Creswick Municipal Band Creswick Legacy. Creswick Red Cross ----------------------------------- Creswick CFA Creswick Lions Club Anglican Parish of Springmount Creswick Senior Citizens. Creswick Probus Club Creswick Garden Club Creswick Scouts and Cubs |
Creswick PS Creswick Nth PS Newlyn PS St Augustines PS. Mt Blowhard PS Phoenix College ----------------------------------- Friends of Park Lake RACV Goldfields Resort – Martin Zunstein Creswick Football Netball club Creswick Bowling Club Creswick Historical Society Creswick Museum Mr John Lambert Creswick IGA Members of the Public. |
THE ACT OF REMEMBRANCE.
Ode
Last Post. Suzi Koene
Lest We Forget
Rouse. Flag to be raised slowly when Rouse starts.
New Zealand National Anthem & Australian National Anthem - singer is Ms. Giuliana D’Appio
Thank you for your attendance today.
Ode
Last Post. Suzi Koene
Lest We Forget
Rouse. Flag to be raised slowly when Rouse starts.
New Zealand National Anthem & Australian National Anthem - singer is Ms. Giuliana D’Appio
Thank you for your attendance today.
Photos courtesy: Terry Hope Productions, Ballarat Courier & Phil Greenbank