There are war memorials dotted across Eden-Monaro symbolising the way our defence force and efforts for peace touch us all. Towns big and small are called to that service, even though those challenges often happen on a global stage thousands of kilometres away.
‘The Men from Snowy River March’ is a source of great pride for high-country communities, and forms part of our national identity. Like any ‘great’ story it comes with a mix of conflicting feelings.
The March left Delegate on 6 January 1916 with 14 members. Goulburn was in their sights with the aim of picking up new recruits for World War 1 along the way. A large crowd gathered as these young men stepped off holding high a banner sewn by the women of Delegate. This banner, it’s precious threads of red, white, and blue are safe in the nation’s vault of treasures.
On paths still used today, the March passed through Bombala, Nimmitabel, Cooma, Bunyan, Bredbo, Michelago, Queanbeyan, Bungendore, and Tarago before reaching Goulburn on 29 January 1916.
Numbers had swelled to 144 men and boys; the original 14 members had marched 354 km from Delegate.
Tragically, of the 144 men, 39 were killed in action on the Western Front. Another 75 were seriously wounded, and it’s only all these decades later that we have a sense of the trauma those who made it home had to contend with – perhaps in the stoic silence of the time.
In the Second World War, ‘The Men from Snowy River March’ formed again with 15 volunteers in Delegate. Just over 100 had joined their ranks by the time they got to Canberra.
You would be mistaken for thinking the service, spirit, and commitment evident in these stories was only ‘of that time’.
Being a member of Australia’s Defence Forces is extreme community service and a very real and unique experience. Consider what you can bring to your local community and the value it can add to the lives around you and indeed your own life.
