I shared a beer with a man I barely knew we seemed to know, after a time he said “I see in your eyes you have been there.” I replied harshly, ” I have been nowhere”, he laughed a while and went quiet saying, “I have been there too.”   After another few he […]

Some wore chains, felt the lash and toiled with fear Generations that followed strived with blood, sweat and tears In time a nation was born and soon after, ANZAC was the battle cry Came the Great Depression and many asked God “Why?” The Coat Hanger an engineering feat as was the Snowy Hydro too Among […]

Thanks to Craig Hannan 8/9 RAR for this latest contribution.  

I find it hard to fill the boots of our dear departed ‘tribal elder’, Tiny Dugan, in proposing the toast to the Regiment – But I will try.   What does it mean to have served in the Regiment?  Some 80,000 men have passed through its ranks since its inception on 23 November 1948 and […]

  Mary Gilmore 1940 Sons of the mountains of Scotland, Welshmen of coomb and defile, Breed of the moors of England, Children of Erin’s green isle, We stand four square to the tempest, Whatever the battering hail- No foe shall gather our harvest, Or sit on our stockyard rail. Our women shall walk in honour, Our […]

Taken from:  http://www.military.com/HomePage/UnitPageHistory/1,13506,722590%7C777958,00.html   From the Gospel according to Saint Miles, Ground-pounder.   In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth and the Infantry. And God looked upon the Infantry, saw that it was good, and said unto them, “Thou art my chosen children. Take thou dominion over the Earth; over the fish […]

Searching, I worried somehow he was lost to me, That in this place, there may be nothing of him. But there; the name, his rank, a number, The regimental badge, that awful date, A simple plaque, a wooden stake, Beside a sapling.   It was a smaller grove, a little distant, Though that would not […]

I have lived and worked overseas for many years, mainly in Cambodia, and am back briefly in Australia.   One of my current trades is poetry and I composed two pieces relative to the Memorial Walk a few years ago.   One More Plaque   Late sunlight filters through the trees, Across bronze plaques beneath, […]

Old soldiers were on parade and the ranks thinning fast Soon there were but a few and then the very last Now is the time to reflect on this unit’s life To salute history created during bloody strife It’s warriors served from the Mekong Delta to the DMZ Sometimes alone, often in groups of two […]

Given we are soon to commemorate 100 years since ANZAC, it begs the following question. Why can’t our nation have such a forest of trees?  It would seem appropriate to include a history trail commencing at the entrance to such a living memorial.     A FOREST FOR OUR FALLEN Many of our youth in […]