The small town of Kojonup saw its population swell from 25 to 300 recently, drawing local residents and visitors from other states who attended to pay their respects to their ancestors at the re-dedication of the Muradup War Memorial a short distance away.
The obelisk was made in September 1916 to remember the names of 49 members who enlisted to fight in the Great War of 1914 to 1918. Thirteen soldiers died in action.
The Muradup Football and Cricket Clubs in September 1916 built the obelisk to record the names of 49 members who enlisted for service in WWI.
Thirteen soldiers were killed in action and did not return.
Hundreds of those diggers’ descendants, as well as relatives of Muradup men and women who served in subsequent engagements, gathered at the Muradup War Memorial.
A volunteers’ restoration group formed in 2011, refurbished the monument and made a new display to record the memorial’s past and the stories of the men whose names are on it.
Group member Robert Sexton said the large attendance was humbling and unexpected. All they required was for someone to inform them something was occurring and they turned out in droves to witness their relatives being remembered in a respectful and proper way, he said.
He is hopeful the effort by the community is an example for others to document their military history.
Two brothers, Robert and Terry Javens, traveled from Geraldton to honor two brothers who fought in the identical unit on the bloody battlegrounds of Western Front.
Their great uncle, Private Victor William Javens, was 32 when he died in action on August 3, 1917, while in combat at Messines Ridge, Belgium, fighting with the 44th Australian Infantry Battalion
Hollingsworth Philip Javens, his younger brother, also served in the 44th Battalion but was sent home because of trench foot.
Terry Javens said their grandfather wasn’t truthful about his age, claiming to be 21 when he was 17, to fight overseas like his brother, ABC News reported.
He said placing a wreath in their great uncle’s honor was an emotional occasion.
“It’s very moving, I get a bit teary, but I am proud too,” he said.
Returned and Services League Western Australia president Peter Aspinall said what was witnessed by all is was extraordinary, describing the memorial service as very moving.
As far as we know, that is the first dedicated memorial to former service personnel or to those killed who lost sacrificed their lives anywhere in the western part of Australia.