Brett Raguse (Forde, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

When I was last talking about the importance of the Military Memorials of National Significance Bill 2008, particularly for my seat of Forde, I was discussing the significance of Camp Cable, which was established during the Second World War. It housed about 20,000 American troops. Camp Cable, as I explained previously, was located between Jimboomba and Logan Village. During the war, from 1942 to 1943, it housed about 20,000 American troops as part of the staging for the Battle of the Coral Sea off North Queensland. My point was about the need to enshrine our memorials. This bill certainly goes a long way towards establishing a process to allow communities across the country to give recognition to that visual history.

I also mentioned my childhood in a family that had a very strong military background. We very quickly lose that verbal history and that living history. My father tragically died 20-odd years ago. I remember the discussions that we had when I was a child about his experiences and the experiences of the region. He was a farm boy from Teviotville, which is just outside the electorate I represent. During the 1940s there was a mobilisation in the township of Beaudesert, which is also a part of my electorate, which established the 2nd/14th Light Horse Regiment. He was a young man of 18. He and his brother were asked to bring their horses along and they mobilised the 2nd/14th. Obviously, the technology of war at that stage meant that the 2nd/14th, or the light horse brigades, were converted into other divisions and it became part of an armoured division. The people of Beaudesert these days probably are not even aware of that history, so it is important that we consider ways of ensuring that we maintain an understanding, and I believe that this bill goes some way towards that.

I was talking briefly about Canungra, which is a major military facility in my electorate as well. It is otherwise known as Kokoda Barracks within the Canungra military area. It was established during World War II and was revived during the 1960s until the end of the Vietnam War. The base provides a substantial permanent resident population as well as an ever-changing transient population due to the extensive ongoing training courses on offer at the base. In fact, the member for Eden-Monaro, the Hon. Dr Mike Kelly, did his initial training there and I believe that in subsequent years he has spent a lot of time at Canungra. It is very much for people who have served in the military. To some degree it has become almost a pilgrimage for them to return to Canungra. It has a significant history for a whole range of reasons, including the land warfare training done during the Vietnam War era and, in subsequent years, for other purposes.

I wanted to make note of this particularly because Canungra is obviously a well-known area now but in years to come, given the change that may occur, we may forget a lot about its history. It is so important, in fact, that it was recognised in a very famous song that many of you would know. It is a song by Redgum called I was only 19. Mr Speaker, I would like to seek your indulgence because I want to talk a little bit about the words in this song, but the only way to do that is to put it to tune. I would like to give you a little bit of an understanding of the importance of this song. It goes something like this:

Mum and dad and Denny saw the passing out parade at Puckapunyal.

It was a long march from cadets.

The sixth Battalion was the next to tour and it was me who drew the card.

We did Canungra and Shoalwater before we left.

I have put it to tune because people know that song very well. Without the reference to Canungra in that song, it could well have been forgotten.

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