Paul Fletcher (Bradfield, Liberal Party, Minister for Territories, Local Government and Major Projects) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Shortly I will be attending the launch of the second volume of Rallying the Troops, a four-volume work published by the Ku-ring-gai Historical Society in my electorate of Bradfield.

This work sets out the stories of the men and women with links to the Ku-ring-gai area who served during World War I. Thanks to the prodigious efforts of the Ku-ring-gai Historical Society, all 1,660 men and women who served will have their stories included in one of these four volumes, ensuring that their experiences are recorded for the benefit of future generations.

This project also includes descriptions of life in the Ku-ring-gai area before, during and after World War I. There are descriptions of the processes of recruitment and training, the campaigns the troops from our area fought in and other important parts of the war history of Ku-ring-gai, such as the role of Charles Bean, the celebrated World War I historian and war correspondent—a long-time resident of the upper North Shore and a man who was instrumental in the creation of the Australian War Memorial, the director of which is my predecessor as the member for Bradfield, Dr Brendan Nelson. Charles Bean also played a critical role in ensuring that the Anzac legend was well understood amongst all Australians.

The second volume of Rallying the Troops was made possible through a grant of $20,000 under the government's Anzac Centenary Local Grants Program. Indeed, the first volume was launched last year by Dr Brendan Nelson, who—as I have mentioned—is presently director of the War Memorial and former member for Bradfield.

I want to commend the Ku-ring-gai Historical Society for their important work on this project and for all that they do. The society was formed in 1963 and has over 600 members. Their work includes assisting with the tracing of family histories, publishing books and newsletters about the Ku-ring-gai area and its rich history and heritage and maintaining interest in local heritage issues, as well as being custodians of an impressive collection of documents and records. Their annual publication, The Historian, details the work of the Ku-ring-gai Historical Society and includes local family and built history.

I congratulate the Ku-ring-gai Historical Society on this very impressive program of work to commemorate the contribution of Ku-ring-gai residents in World War I and to document the impact it had on so many lives locally. I very much look forward to attending the launch of this second volume of Rallying the Troops.