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

Tabulam holds its head high in our nation for many reasons. It is physically beautiful. It sits on the upper Clarence. It has productive country: beef, blueberries and much more. Very importantly, it has great community spirit. But there is much more to Tabulam. It holds a special place in our nation's history as the home of the light horse brigade.

The story of Tabulam's involvement with the light horse goes back to 1885, with Captain Charles Chauvel, who owned Tabulam Station. In October 1885 he formed two troops of the Upper Clarence Light Horse, the first ever light horse brigades. The Boer War was the first overseas service for the light horse brigades. They, then, also served with distinction in a number of conflicts, including serving in Gallipoli as infantry and then fighting in Palestine during the great desert campaign of 1916-17.

They were involved in many battles, but perhaps the most famous event was the charge of Beersheba. The Light Horse Brigade was then under the command of General Harry Chauvel, who was Charles's son. The Battle of Beersheba took place on 31 October 1917 as part of the wider British offensive known as the Third Battle of Gaza. The final part of this all-day battle was the famous mounted charge of the Light Horse Brigade. Commencing at dusk, members of the brigade stormed through the Turkish defences and seized the strategic town of Beersheba. In this action, 31 light horsemen were killed in the charge and 36 were wounded, and at least 70 horses died. The battle was later immortalised in the film Forty Thousand Horsemenproduced by Harry Chauvel's nephew Charles. Many of the local men serving in the regiment at that time participated in that particular scene for the film, giving the film its very accurate footage.

The Tabulam troop was reformed in January 1931 and became part of the 15th Light Horse, Northern Rivers Lancers. The early members of the troop included: Lionel Hewetson, George Grey, Clarrie Mealing, Jack Hollis, Owen Winterton, Eric Wilkinson, Bevan Wilkinson, Eric Wilkinson—there were two!—Charles Coledus, Ernie Wright, Bill Ward, Jack Ward, Bill Poulson, Bert Wann, Jimm Wann and, slightly later, Cecil Keogh and Alex—or Bill—Fraser. The brigade also distinguished itself at the opening of the Grafton Bridge in July 1932. In October 1985, Tabulam celebrated the centenary of the foundation of the Upper Clarence Light Horse, when the 41st Battalion and the 1st/15th lancer regiment from Parramatta, complete with military band, led a march through town in what was not just a significant chapter in Tabulam's history but, indeed, the history of this nation.

We have often said that age is no boundary, and this is certainly the case for Angourie swimmer, Helmut Klein and his wife Jan. Last year in April Helmut competed in the Queensland state masters swimming championships and collected no less than eight medals. In May, he and Jan competed at the masters swimming championships in Victoria, where Helmut won an impressive haul of one silver and five bronze metals, with Jan just missing out on the finals. In November, the couple competed in the Pan Pacific Masters Games on the Gold Coast. Helmut collected another nine metals, including three gold. Jan also made it into the finals, finishing in the top eight in three events. Helmut's overall fourth place at the Pan Pacific Masters Games qualifies him for the first World Masters Games to be held in New Zealand in April. He will compete in the breaststroke, backstroke and the 2½ kilometre ocean swim events. Helmut stays in competitive shape by swimming with locals every morning at Yamba. He is also a member of Yamba Surf Life Saving Club, earning his bronze medallion three years ago. I wish him and Jan all the best of luck.