It sounds a bit morbid, but when I was in Western Australia in 2012 I went with a friend to the Western Australian War Cemetery which is a huge place in the Perth suburbs. It was a moving experience as we walked along the rows of crosses in a sombre mood, contemplating the deaths of those who fought in the Wars for Australia.
At some later stage I visited the War Cemetery at Lutwyche, Brisbane – a much smaller cemetery within the general cemetery, and much less salubrious than the one in WA.
Last week when I was in Rockhampton, my friend and I visited the War Cemetery there. It is in the midst of one of the old cemeteries of Rocky, with this special place to one side within the complex.
It certainly was a moving experience to walk along the grass taking note of the many servicemen who died. There may have been service women buried there but I did not see those.
One thing that did stand out was the many deaths on the 19th December 1943. There was nothing on the graves to indicate what had happened so on my return home I went to my trusty “Google” and keyed in the date.
I learnd then that on December 19th, 1943 the Second Worst Air Disaster in Australia occurred when a “C-47 of 22nd Troop Carrier Squadron 374th Transport Group crashed 30 miles north of Rockhampton at Rossmoya Road, Canal Creek”.
It appears that the aircraft disintergrated in the air. It had left Garbutt Airfield in Townsville earlier on route to Archerfield airfied in Brisbane. All 21 persons on board were killed. It is those who are in the Cemetery at Rockhampton.
You can read more about it here.
It was an honour to walk amongst the headstones there and in the general cemetery where many of the graves appear to have been recently updated and a metal place installed on the wall of the grave indicating that they are under the care of the Australian Office of War Graves.
