Unveiling of World Wars Honour Boards

Member for Southern Downs, Mr James Lister MP; Southern Downs Regional Council, Mayor, Councillor Vic Pennisi and Councillors; Freestone Hall Committee, President, Mr Richard Saunders; Descendant of the Sale Family, Ms Lyn Washbourne; Freestone State School staff and students; distinguished guests; ladies and gentlemen.

I begin by acknowledging the Traditional Owners of these lands, the Githabul people, and pay my respects to Elders past, present and emerging, and to all First Nations people with us this afternoon.

In particular, I acknowledge descendants of Alfred Smale and his Yuggera wife, Emily – an acknowledgement that is especially relevant today because two of their sons served in World War I. Their eldest, James, fought as part of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force in Europe in 1917, but it is their younger son, Walter, who is very much in our minds and hearts today.

At the age of just 19, Walter enlisted in Warwick and was sent to Gallipoli as part of the 2^nd Light Horse Regiment. He was young, strong, and sports-loving, and quickly earned renown as a powerful and accurate a bomb-thrower on the battlefield. Sadly, this was to lead to his death when his Regiment stormed the Turkish lines on the eighth of August 1915. He was the first Freestone man and the first Indigenous soldier to die in World War I.

Walter’s heroic action at Quinn’s Post, led to his name being recorded on the very first honour board unveiled here in this hall in 1916.

Back then, this was not the Freestone Memorial Hall; it was the School of Arts and was still down on Jack Smith Gully Road, but, more than 120 years on, thanks to the generosity, collaboration and dedicated effort of the people of this district, the hall is much more than a building; it’s the very heartbeat of this community.

Whether it’s a meeting of the Hall Committee, a Burgers and Beers night, a solemn wreath-laying commemoration ceremony, or yarn-bombing every possible surface for Jumpers and Jazz in July, this hall has helped create an exceptional level of community cohesion.

The project we’re celebrating today is a fine example of just what can happen when a community works together towards a common goal.

As many of you will know, Freestone’s original World War I honour board recorded only 18 names and even Charles Astley’s beautiful honour roll, created in 1919, listed only 28. World War II records, too, were patchy.

For the Hall Committee, this was a call to action – they successfully applied for a grant, engaged Deborah Wheeler as a military historian, and today, these new honour boards proudly commemorate Freestone’s 46 World War I veterans, including Walter Smale, and acknowledge all those from the Freestone area who served.

I thank Deborah for her meticulous research, acknowledge the donors for their generosity, and congratulate the Committee on bringing the project to completion.

I wish you all well for a highly successful Christmas at the Hall on Friday evening and for the festive season and New Year ahead, and now have great pleasure and pride of inviting your President Mr Richard Saunders to join me in unveiling this plaque, commemorating the contribution and sacrifice of all Freestone service personnel.