April 30 2019, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
April is a very Melbourne Month.
No matter the long noon shadows. Or the foreboding bleak. Summer’s loves are settled.
Here it is a month of optimism. A month of defiance.
The skies are clear. The light is sharp. The colours bright. The air is still. The nights may be cold
But In April, it is still possible to walk down the street and be buoyed by the day.
To feel your chest chilled in the shade and moments later, a cheek seared in the sunshine.
It is a bridge of the seasons, and in football terms it is the hope of the season.
It has been just so these last few weeks, notwithstanding terrors elsewhere.
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105 years ago, 1914, Melburnians were in their April mood.
They had no thoughts of war.
In fact for more than 70 years, Melbourne had been one of the go to places in the world for the young and adventurous. Not without challenges, but amongst the fastest growing Cities anywhere and Australia’s Capital. The world’s young came this way. Aspirations came with them.
Even 104 years ago, 1915, the April mood was still the same.
War had been declared 8 months before. Many Victorians enlisted immediately. Understanding they would be home by Christmas.
There was huge enthusiasm for this great adventure.
And for the first time, in a grand reversal, our young had gone to the world. Their dreams went with them
The first assaults to our North changed little
The thousands of troops assembled in Egypt remained upbeat in their correspondence.
But on this April 30 day, 104 years ago, Australians had no idea of the tragedy unfolding at Gallipoli.
After the war, TS Elliot in his seminal “The Waste Land” began:
“April is the cruellest month”.
It was reference to the false hopes of April and the slaughter on those Spring days of Europe
And so it was for our troops.
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This day, April 30, was Day 6 of the Gallipoli hell.
But 21 year old Alan Couve’s family had no idea the young pharmacy student had been fatally wounded on April 25th 1915 at the Gallipoli landing. On Day 1. The very first day.
They had no idea his brother Tom would be killed just a few days later.
In fact it was several years before the family had confirmation of Alan’s death.
Frank Cahir’s family had no idea of the ordeal he faced from that first day, in the cold and the rain, night and day, rescuing the dead, the dying and the wounded. The toll that experience had on Frank was devastating.
It was months before the scale of the Gallipoli tragedy was understood.
It was years before the slaughter on the Western Front and beyond ceased.
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April remains a very Melbourne month but it has also become our Commemoration month.
Anzac Day is well attended. It is marked now with story telling and ritual.
On Anzac Day the ode concludes: “At the going down of the sun and in the morning we will remember them.” And we respond “We will remember them”.
And yet if asked what happened on Anzac Day, few can recall. We sang the Anthem. The last post was played. We stood in silence. Heard a speaker. The flag was raised. We observed the rituals.
The Commemoration was honoured.
But what do we take away? We recommit “We will remember them”. But who are “them”?
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Not long ago a Year 9 student asked me “Why should we bother. It was so long ago?” It was an honest question.
The message is simple. Mere story telling and ritual is not enough.
We have to find contemporary connections to those who served, the people, places and events involved and their significance.
If we are to pass the torch to future generations we have to ensure those generations can pick up these threads of connection for themselves. Give them the tools to do so. And ensure they own, and understand those threads. That was our Centenary Committee’s mission.
When I first met with Bill Charman and Andrew McIntosh on this project, I challenged them to go beyond the commemoration and to search for these connections.
They embraced the concept and, as you can see, have done an extraordinary job.
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They have shone a light on the deep and personal links of the College to Sir John Monash. The Pharmacy College has revealed the amazing story of what must be one of the greatest handshakes in Australian History. When Sir John Monash congratulated ‘Weary’ Dunlop on his best student award in 1927.
They have engaged closely with the Monash family. Prompted the reveal of extraordinary Monash material long archived at the University.
The greatest Australian of all time, Sir John Monash, is now forever connected to the College.
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They have given air to the role of Pharmacists in the AIF. And we honour today the 200 plus pharmacists who served, and whose names appear on the board above.
They have given new dimensions to one of the great professions. Uncovered the most amazing connections and enriched our history
They have honoured 5 very special former students. Each of whom paid the ultimate price.
They found families. Not always easy 3 and 4 generations on. As names change and families move.
Many are with us today - with connections anew in hand. And tears in their eyes
They helped those families discover material previously unknown. Here and abroad.
They have gone to print and social media to reach a wider audience. Telling stories but making new connections. And they have brought us together today. And what a gathering it is.
They reached out to the 5000 Poppies Project which set out to honour the late respective WW2 fathers of its Melbourne founders but has now seen around 1.0m of these poppies hand knitted by 10s of 1000s of volunteers. Each poppy different. Each dedicated with love to an original Anzac. Each thread a connection. And seen in London, Fromelles, Canberra, War Graves across the world, at the Shrine, Federation Square and the Flower Show. And here today.
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They have had me intrigued too. Eric Bisset’s brother Alan is buried at Vlamertinghe Cemetery near Ypres just a few metres from my grandfather. On our family’s next visit we will replace the knitted Poppies at Bill Knox’s grave and add some to Alan’s.
Gordon Jewkes father lived in Loch St St Kilda. Where 8 others also enlisted. Imagine the emotion in the street as the horrors unfolded. The homes are still there. Perhaps Loch St could embrace their connections with plaques and ceremonies relevant to their boys, 2 of whom were killed.
St James Anglican Church in Dandenong boasts a beautiful board honouring Alan and Tom Couve and others, and a window honouring the wife of the Vicar of the day, the mother of Alan’s heartbroken fiancé Millie. What did become of Millie Veale?
Tom and Alan played Football for Dandenong. May their Club ever connect.
Malcolm Jones’ brother Murray flew in the same squadron as one of our family members. They left Melbourne together in March 1916 on the same ship Orsova.
The College can now invite every Pharmacy across Victoria to put their arms around one of the 200, as a fellow professional.
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Now shut your eyes, if you will. Picture the 5 boys we honour today. Imagine a blood red thread drawn from the poppies outside. Roll it out across the world to where they lie now. And to all the places they served and visited. To their homes. To their gardens. Their schools and churches. Their sporting Clubs. The streets they walked. The beaches where they swam. The pharmacies where they worked. The homes of their loved ones. Their friends. And to this College. And to you.
Such long thin threads. But what a tapestry it is. Not just ritual. Not just story telling. But intimate personal connections
They are our sons, our brothers, our fathers, mothers, families Our towns, schools, colleges. Our jobs, our communities, streets, and our homes, gardens, bedrooms. Our loves, our dreams.
That is why we bother.
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To the VC, Bill and Andrew and their team, thank you. This will connect generations. It’s timeless.
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And let me note in conclusion.
On this day 100 years ago. April 30, 1919, as the peace process slowly ground on, a further 66 allied troops died as a result of their service. As Frank’s family can attest, the pain ground on too.
They included one Victorian – Percy Harold Ostler. At the age of 21 Percy made his April landing at Gallipoli 4 years earlier. He was returned to Australia in just 3 months. No doubt his care included the best from AIF Pharmacists. But Percy never recovered from neurasthenia (Shell Shock).
April was Percy’s cruellest month. His home, not far from here, at 683 Brunswick St stands - still.
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Who are ‘them’? ‘Them’ are us! We are all connected.
Commemoration is important. Stories will be told. Rituals observed. Very much so in our Aprils.
But Connection is forever. Connection is for every going down of the sun. Every morning. Not just in April.
Lest we forget – we must connect.
Photo James Thomas
