Tag Archives: corryong

Warhorses and The Chauvel Foundation

I was honoured when Lt Col. John Boyce emailed, asking to interview me for an article to be posted on The Chauvel Foundation website. The foundation aims to, ‘promote, support and inspire service to the community by building public awareness of the attributes, dedication and accomplishments of the Australian Light Horse and their greatest commander, General Sir Harry Chauvel.’ It’s a terrific reference resource for those interested in Australian history.

The article, ‘Writing for Younger Readers about the Light Horse‘ shares details of my writing journey with examples from The Last Light Horse and Light Horse Boy. Lt Col. John Boyce has a deep interest in military history and his percipient questions led to interesting reflections on my creative process. I also liked the way page draft examples were included.

My interest in General Sir Harry Chauvel, sparked by WWI research for the ‘Light series’, deepened after meeting Sir Harry’s granddaughter, Dr Honor Auhinleck. A fellow author, Honor contacted me after students at Corryong College read Light Horse Boy and decided to research the veterans on their town cenotaph. That led to a meeting in Corryong, an ongoing friendship, and Upper Murray book launches.

The Chauvel Foundation website is an historical treasure trove of information. There are articles with details about battles, horses, the Lighthorsemen, Art and Poetry, as well as Sir Harry himself. Not only a great reference site, it’s an enjoyable site to dip into for interesting reading.

Researching WW1 Veterans

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Last year the Year 5 and 6 students and teachers at Corryong College spent months researching and gathering information about 57 Light Horse men from their town and the surrounding district. The result is a professionally bound and just released book, Light Horseman of the Upper Murray.

lhmen

The book is a valuable reference and I was honoured to learn that this project was inspired by a class reading of Light Horse Boy.

Researching family histories and community members who served in wartime is a great way to foster students’ interest in history. Teachers Stephen Learmonth and Georgia Dally invited their local RSL and historical society to be involved and also enlisted the support of Dr Honor Auchinleck (granddaughter of General Sir Harry) Chauvel). During a visit to Corryong I was impressed by the knowledge and research skills of these young students and you can read more about this visit here.

I wonder whether any other schools have created similar collections? If anyone knows of one I’d love to hear about it …

The Spirit of Silver Brumby Lives on

Corryong Light Horse men and mascots

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Corryong and the Upper Murray region is renowned for courageous and skilful horse riders. A statue in the main street honours Banjo Patterson’s ‘Man from Snowy River’, the grave of Jack Riley (claimed to be the legendary ‘man’) lies on a hill above the town and a bush festival is held each April. Last week I was fortunate to visit Corryong College and meet the Year 5 and 6 students who have been studying Light Horse Boy and researching the WWI light horse men with links to their town.

photo: Stephen Learmonth

Each student has researched one of 57 WWI soldiers from the Corryong region and this research has been compiled into an historical publication ‘Light Horsemen of the Upper Murray’. The book is a valuable reference with evocative photographs and fascinating personal details which bring history to life. Through the process, some families have rediscovered previously forgotten connections with great great uncles and grandfathers. The project has been led by teacher and military enthusiast Stephen Learmonth and Georgia Dally. I was honoured to be welcomed into Corryong College to share details of my own research and to compare stories linked to WWI soldiers, their faithful Walers and other animal mascots. More about the latter mascots in my next post…

The visit came about after I received a letter from Dr Honor Auchinleck, daughter of Elyne Mitchell (The Silver Brumby) and granddaughter of General Sir Henry George (Harry) Chauvel. In this letter, Honor described the children’s project and sent kind feedback regarding Light Horse Boy. After my presentation, and Honor’s commemorative address to the students, we enjoyed lunch at a local café. More also about that and the Elyne Mitchell Writing Award in a following post. In the meantime, thank you, Stephen, Honor, staff and Year 5/6 students. It was wonderful meeting you.