2/24th connection to city remains strong

THREE local young people were recognised for their contribution to the community through citizenship awards at Saturday evening's 2/24th Australian Infantry Battalion reunion dinner. The awards presentation was part of the annual gathering in Wangaratta for relatives of those who served in the battalion in World War 2. The 2/24th, which is remembered with a mural near the main gate at the Wangaratta Showgrounds, became known as 'Wangaratta's Own', after it was formed at the Showgrounds in July, 1940 before marching out for further training at the Bonegilla camp. Descendants of battalion members visit the rural city each year for a reunion gathering and a memorial service at the Wangaratta Cemetery, which was held on Sunday and attended by Wangaratta's 33 Army Cadet Unit. It was followed by a luncheon catered by the RSL Ladies Auxiliary. Saturday night's dinner saw the annual citizenship awards presented to Makenzie Clark (Cathedral College), Ethan Perry-Hayden (Galen Catholic College) and Swaye Frankland (Wangaratta High School). Each student delivered a short speech detailing why they were chosen by their respective schools, and how those qualities relate back to the 2/24th. The 2/24th AIF Battalion drew members from volunteer recruits for overseas service, who came from all parts of Victoria and all walks of life. The unit saw active service as part of the 9th Australian division in North Africa at Tobruk, The Salient, Tel el Eisa and El Alamein, suffering heavy casualties along the way. After regrouping back in Australia in 1943, this highly successful, experienced and battle-hardened unit went into New Guinea for further action in battles to free Lae, Finschhafen, Sattelberg, Wareo and then Tarakan in Borneo. The 2/24th Battalion Association was formed in 1948 and, after several reunions in Wangaratta, the council granted the unit 'Freedom of the City' on its 50th Anniversary in 1990. To keep the link alive between Wangaratta and the battalion, a great deal is represented in the area: 2 and 24 trees were planted by members and local friends in the Memorial Avenue at the entrance to Wangaratta Cemetery; a fig tree at the cemetery, and another at Wangaratta High School, were grown from cuttings from Tobruk; the cemetery's memorial gates are named after past president Alan Macfarlane; a drinking fountain has also been placed in memory of Lt Col C G Weir DSO, MID; a tree was planted in Batchelor’s Green; and there is a seat in the central business area and also at the cemetery, in addition to the mural at the Showgrounds. The citizenship awards for a year 11 student from Cathedral College, Galen College and Wangaratta High School were instituted to repay the warmth, hospitality and friendships made in Wangaratta over many years. Each student is chosen by their teachers to have shown involvement, contribution, consideration and an awareness of the needs of others, for the betterment of school and community life, with their names to be engraved on their school's honour board. The 2/24th's links with Wangaratta remain with connections to the Wangaratta RSL Sub-Branch, 33 Army Cadet Unit Wangaratta, Cemetery Trust and Rural City of Wangaratta, and the schools community in the rural city.

2/24th connection to city remains strong

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