A message from the Mayor: Commemorating our Anzac Day heroes

Published on 19 April 2022

Monday of next week is our Commemorative day for the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (Anzac). It’s an opportunity to consider our country’s history of sacrifice and service by thousands of men and women over many years and conflicts around the world.

The names of local Service people are inscribed on Cenotaphs throughout the Shire.  Each name represents not just one person, but a family who loved and cherished them. For those members of the Services who did not return, these family members and their descendants rightly remember their sacrifice with pride.

To illustrate, the Dornan name is found on the Frederickton Cenotaph.  Two of the three brothers named died in the Great War and one returned. Their names are also found on the Honour Roll inside the Frederickton Hall, which was unveiled by their mother in May 1922.

Private Frederick Dyson enlisted in November 1915 and went missing in action at Fromelles, France on 19 July 1916.  His body was finally identified and reburied in 2010 at the Fromelles Memorial Cemetery. His name is on the East Kempsey Cenotaph.

The people we honour and remember on Anzac Day were members of our community and part of our history. For those who would like to know more there are more than one and a half million Service Records available on the National Archives of Australia website.  

I encourage everyone to show their respect for our Service Men and Women by attending one of the many events being held across the Shire. Details of the four Dawn Services and nine Commemorative Services are on Council’s website at Spread the Anzac spirit at this year's services

Toose Road challenge

I joined senior Council staff, specialist geotechnical engineers and police at a community meeting in Bellbrook last week regarding the serious landslip at Toose Road.

The owners and managers of the stunning and remote properties in this area are no strangers to having to be resilient and solve problems. Understandably it’s frustrating for them to learn that this slip is highly unpredictable and presents a real risk of catastrophic failure so it can’t be easily fixed.

Council have committed to keep working with affected residents on their individual access issues relating to stock, fodder and fuel, while also building an alternative access route. 

Find out more about the Toose Road landslip