When the Australian Defence Force offered to send its bugler to perform at a milestone event at Wolumla, Phil Hall from the Merimbula RSL sub-branch said, "We don't need one. We have our own".
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Jordan Mansfield, a 14-year-old trumpeter, will be the one to sound the Last Post and Rouse at the 100th anniversary commemoration of the Wolumla War Memorial Gates.
The teenager from Tura Beach said he was kind of nervous about the event this Saturday, March 8, which was expected to draw a crowd of hundreds.
But he understood the honour bestowed upon him.
"Me being part of a 100th anniversary is kind of special. Not many, not a lot of people get to do this," Jordan said.
"I am kind of nervous, but it's all going to be an amazing thing.
"It messes with my gut a little bit, but once I just start playing, I'm perfect from then on. I have been practising a lot."
The memorial gates were unveiled on March 7, 1925, in the presence of "probably the biggest gathering ever assembled there", according to a Bega District News article from the time.
A procession of returned soldiers, Oddfellows, schoolchildren, and riflemen marched through the town to the gates, headed by the Bega Band.
The pillars were made of concrete so they "would stand for centuries" and were adorned with polished tablets containing the names of service personnel in gold letters, while the gates were made of heavy wood.
"The gallant soldiers had fought not only for them, but for the generations that would follow, and if they had not gone, they might not have had the freedom they enjoyed today," the newspaper clipping from 1925 read.
"The gates were very appropriate, and the next generation would be able to look and say, 'My dad, or my uncle, served in the war.' The gates would commemorate their services for generations.
"Standing on the great highway of the coast, it would for generations be a reminder to the residents and the passer-by that when the call of duty came, this small community had nobly responded.
"Wolumla had sent 11 per cent of its population to the front."
One of the names on the memorial belonged to Arthur "Tommy" Clyde Moffitt, an AIF trooper farrier in World War I who had to look after the horses and have them "ready to go if it got a bit rough".
His grandson, Phil Moffitt, spoke proudly of his ancestor when describing what he had done during his service.
"I feel a little bit honoured. I feel that my grandfather Tommy, of whom I only have the faintest memory as I was three when he died, would be pleased I'd be doing it," Phil said.
"And that's a pretty good reason for me."
On Saturday, March 8, gather at Wolumla Railway Hotel in Bega St at 10am, before a 10.30am march and an 11am service.
There will be an extensive display of historic photographs in the Wolumla Memorial Hall and a barbecue lunch in the park after the service.
Jimmy Parker
I am a multi-award-winning regional news journalist on the Far South Coast of NSW. I aim to immortalise the stories of everyday people through narratives and capture breaking news. Have you got a story? Contact me on 0437 166 441 or at james.parker@austcommunitymedia.com.au
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