Wagga is trying to steal our bit.
The city of Wagga is currently campaigning for a Light Horse statue in their Victory Memorial Gardens. Funds have been provided and they are close to reaching their target.
It won’t look like our very own statue in Murrumburrah but depicts a rider and his horse pulling a fellow soldier up over the hindquarters of the Waler.
The bronze statue shares a resemblance to the Bill the Bastard statue minus the other soldiers and is proposed to be erected alongside the names of those who fought in World War I from the Riverina and South West Slopes.
The theme for the statue was based on the phrase “never leave a mate behind.” The Light Horse mounted troops are a very important part of the Riverina’s history and legacy.
The Light Horse fought in Gallipoli and Palestine during some of WWI’S bloodiest days of fighting.
The Light Horse regiments were made up largely of rural residents.
The Light Horse were incredibly important to the allies’ offensive in the Middle East, pushing the Turkish forces back 1000km between 1915 and 1918 along with the British troops.
The sacrifice of those fighting would help the allies go on to win ‘The War to End All Wars’. Sculptor Brett Garling has proposed a design for the statue including maquettes that are being auctioned off to raise funds for it to be completed.
Jack Murray
