Facebook’s a “Bastard”

He may be known as Australia’s most cantankerous historical horse.

Bill the Bastard became a legend at the Battle of Romani, where he and Major Michael Shanahan rescued four Tasmanian troops from certain death during World War l.

But the big fella known as Bill the Bastard has upset the “snowflakes” of Facebook who do not understand Australian culture, slang or history with the recent removal of the Facebook page.

Just this weekend, page administrator Keith Ward stated that Bronzing Bill The Bastard had been unpublished on Facebook, an automated process based on the use of the word ‘Bastard’ in the name of the page.

A recent BBTB post had reached over 24,000 people and just last week over 200 patrons came to visit the Murrumburrah Studio where the statue is kept and upheld by local sculptor Carl Valerius.

There were at least 100 travelling patrons yesterday and there are 80 visitors expected on a bus this Thursday.

Speaking to The Times, Carl said it would be a disgrace if the name was anything but Bill the Bastard.

“There’s continuous traffic into our town and the studio and they are looking for Bill the Bastard. Not Bill the naughty horse or Bill the horse,” Mr Valerius said.

“If we just call him Bill too, we are taking away his importance as an Australian icon.

“There has been an enormous interest because of the Facebook page. On Sunday I had a comment from two people that have been here before, asking why the page went down. They had been enjoying the story and the process.”

BBTB’s Facebook page had really taken off last year when many were able to enjoy the frequent update of pictures throughout the entire bronzing process.

It has been an emotional journey for many locals who have followed closely on the Facebook page, including the day it finally arrived bronzed and home in Harden-Murrumburrah at the end of last year.

Bill the Bastard’ was a ‘Waler’, a hardy type of horse bred under the extreme climate and challenging working conditions of Australia. Bill was a massive 17.1 hands high, weighed approximately 730 kg and had strength and intelligence unmatched by any others of his breed. He showed courage, endurance and strength that became legendary. He had only one problem, he was the most cantankerous horse that had ever been encountered by the Lighthorsemen.

Bill met his match when he met Major Michael Shanahan, a 46 year old builder from Roma in Queensland. Major Shanahan won the horse’s respect and trust with gentleness, perseverance and a large quantity of liquorice allsorts. Major Shanahan and Bill fought together, depending on each other for their survival.

The Battle of Romani was the turning point of the war in the Middle East. The Australians were severely outnumbered with a force of 1,700 troopers pitched against 26,000 Turks, and when the chips were down, Bill’s heroic efforts and exceptional instincts in battle, saved the lives of his rider and four other troopers at the Battle of Romani. Bill carried the 4 Tasmanian troops over 3km to safety from the Turkish Soldiers. Later in the battle of Romani, Shanahan was shot in the leg and passed out. Bill, sensing that his rider was unconscious, carried Shanahan three kilometres to medical aid.

Facebook defines their Community Standards goal as one that “builds community” and “brings the world closer together”.

But evidently with the failure in Facebook’s algorithm model, a much-loved and valued page has now broken the community and disconnected the rest with the treasured war horse homed here.

“We allow content for public awareness if it is newsworthy and in the public interest, we do this only after weighing the public interest value against the risk of harm,” Facebook said in their policy.

BBTB page administrator Keith said he has registered a protest with Facebook although there seems to be little hope as due to Covid, Facebook “have very few people to review material”.

Previously in July 2016, a staffer from The Times caught up with former Prime Minister Tony Abbott at the Terracotta Restaurant in Murrumburrah whilst he was out on a cycling expedition.

Mr Abbott was invited by the staff for a quick history lesson on the famous horse and rider, and posed with the miniature size statue.

Abbott was interested to know the history of the story and even joked that the caption of the photo for the local paper may be “Two bastards”.

He was certainly a good sport, unlike Facebook.

Now, if you are looking for Bill the Bastard on Facebook, do not bother as all you will find in your search result is a page about a cat.

Algorithms work well on Facebook, don’t they?

Christopher Tan