Kevin Hogan (Page, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise very humbly to talk about and acknowledge the Centenary of Anzac and obviously the centenary of Gallipoli this year. Anzac Day every year is not just acknowledging people who served at Gallipoli but honouring all those who have served this country over many, many years. But obviously this year there was a focus on the centenary of Gallipoli.

I came across some statistics that I found very sobering. I had heard of both these places, as many of us have, but these statistics really reminded me of why most Australians have heard these two names. We have all heard of Lone Pine at Gallipoli. It is about the size of a football field. The number of men that were killed there—not just on our side—was 9,000 over the period of this battle, so 9,000 men were killed in an area the size of a football field. That in itself says a lot about why Lone Pine is very much remembered. Another area is the Nek. The Nek is the size of about three tennis courts, so again not a big area. Some 800 Australians attacked the Turkish trenches at the Nek. In one hour, 650 of those 800 men were killed or wounded. Again, we can see why the Nek and Lone Pine are very much remembered in our history.

In 1919, after the war, Australians were sent back to bury the fallen soldiers. One Australian looked over to the Nek from the ridge where he was and saw a large area of white. He did not know what it was as it was not there during the fighting in 1915. It was four years later. He scrambled through the scrub, went across from one ridge to the other, down through a gully, and came out at the Nek. The large area of white was the skeletons of the Australians who were killed in that hour four years earlier. That gives one the stark reality of exactly what we are talking about.

The first ashore at Gallipoli is a matter of conjecture. Through anecdotal stories, that role fell to Lismore's Joseph Stratford. On the morning of 25 April, eyewitness accounts describe Stratford plunging into waist-deep water from his landing boat and abandoning his pack to charge up the beach with rifle and bayonet. Less than an hour later, he was dead, having stormed a Turkish machine gun post single-handedly, only to fall riddled with bullets. Stratford's achievement has been eulogised locally and is mentioned in the Australian War Memorial archives but was never officially recognised. However, his memory was honoured with a plaque unveiled at the Lismore Uniting Church. Born at Coffee Camp near Nimbin in 1883, Joseph Henry Stratford was the fifth child in a family of 11. When 23, he left Lismore for the North Queensland cane fields and enlisted in the AIF in 1914. Promoted to sergeant, he was a natural leader and likely candidate to lead such a brave assault. Establishing an official record of exactly who was first ashore at Anzac Cove has always proved impossible. Many drowned or were shot before setting foot on the beach, while those who made it to shore were scattered and in disarray. But several eyewitness letters and verbal accounts mentioning Stratford as the first ashore made the case worthy of official consideration. His great-nephew Colin Stratford said 'it was only ever discussed in the family', but it was acknowledged all the same. He believed that there was enough evidence that Stratford should be recognised as the first man ashore. It is a number of years ago now that the Lismore Uniting Church officially recognised that.

The statistics have been mentioned before, but, however horrific they are, they are worth acknowledging. We know that around 60,000 men were killed or wounded during the First World War, and at Gallipoli itself there were many. Our current population would put the statistics at around 250,000 people, which again emphasises how horrific that battle was.

I thank the committee that helped me with the centenary of Anzac. There were lots of re-enactments, memorial plaques, displays et cetera through the Anzac grant program. I would like to mention a couple. I had the privilege of going to Copmanhurst two nights before Anzac Day where there was a re-enactment of the Light Horse Brigade. The day before Anzac Day, 150 men and women rode from Copmanhurst to Grafton to be there for the dawn service. It was very moving. When everyone was assembling at Copmanhurst two nights before, I am sure it was very similar to what happened 100 years ago. There was great energy, frivolity, laughter and what have you when everyone was assembling with their horses. While that was happening, we had to remember that people were going to an unknown, and how sad the results were for many of them. Also, I went to the unveiling of a memorial stained glass window at St Andrews Church in Lismore. There were also improvements around the Lismore baths. Some windows and glass doors were put in so that they could be observed all year around. That was particularly moving for my wife Karen, whose great-great-uncle, Alfred Webber, is listed on that memorial plaque as fallen.

There was also an interesting event at Ballina. There is going to be a planting of trees along the avenue and it will be called Waler's Way. As has been well documented, tens of thousands of horses from Australia went to the battle. It is called Waler's Way because the horses were predominantly from New South Wales. Only one returned. A lot of the young men took their horses with them, and not only did they not return but tens of thousands of horses were also involved in the battle. I went to many unveilings as well around the Kyogle-Woodenbong area. The day itself was very moving, as I am sure it was for all of us involved. I went to the dawn service in Ballina. The dawn service is always moving wherever you go and whatever type of day it is, but it was a particularly moving day with a particularly stunning sunrise. I acknowledge everyone involved in that. The service at Lismore later in the morning was also moving, as were those in Casino, Clovass and Coraki.

I would like to acknowledge everyone on the committee who helped me with those Anzac centenary grants. I obviously pay respect to everyone involved in the conflict. Over this year, because it is the centenary, we have all become more aware of what happened at Gallipoli and the statistics that were involved. As I mentioned at the start, I will never forget that 9,000 men were killed in the area the size of a football field and 650 of 800 Australians were killed or wounded in an area the size of three tennis courts in one hour. We should never forget that.

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