By Oliver Winn
Anzac day 2025 marks 110 years since Australian and New Zealand troops braced the beaches of Gallipoli, where over 8,000 brave soldiers lost their lives to the Ottoman Empire.
Throughout the remainder of World War One, a total of 60,000 Australian soldiers lost their lives to the brutalities of war.
But, this year also marks anniversaries for other significant military events over the last century, such as the 85th anniversary since Australia entered World War Two and the 80th anniversary since the end of World War Two.
80 years has passed since the Liberation of Borneo and its the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War in 1975.
The Warburton, Millgrove and Wesburn townships saw 151 of its own men leave their families – 47 men never returned.
World War One’s impact on the quaint Upper Yarra region reverberated like a shudder throughout the bones of the land, leaving stories behind that would be handed down for generations to come.
The story of Yarra Ranges’ only World War One Victoria Cross recipient, Captain George Ingram, has been told by many over the years.
Mr Ingram grew up in Seville and miraculously served in both world wars before he died in 1961.
“It was traumatic; he was responsible for the death of more than 40 men on that day, hand to
hand combat, and that’s going to haunt anyone,” Anthony McAleer, author of Great Courage and Initiative – The Heroic Life of George Ingram VC, MM, said.
Commemorative gates at Seville Primary School mark his contribution to World War One as a ‘Seville Boy’.
This year also marked 10 years since the Anzac centenary where the Yarra Junction Anzac Avenue of Honour was opened.
The official opening of the ceremony saw flags placed on 34 trees in tribute to the 34 men from the area who lost their lives in World War One.
The trees, protected by timber tree guards of the era, have been planted on the Warburton Rail Trail and identify the individual men, their age and where they died.
Upper Yarra RSL member Jeff Smith said the soldiers would’ve been humbled at the commemoration they receive today.
“They would be amazed at the Australia of today, and humbled that they are being remembered in this way,” he said.
The Upper Yarra’s own Buller Brothers is another well-known tale from the area – the three boys, Charles, John and Arthur, lost their lives in horrific circumstances and left a void in their hometown when they never returned home.
Private Charles Lewis Read from Yarra Junction served with the 11th Reinforcements, 6th Battalion, dying a year after he enlisted in France on 26 July 1916.
It’s these local soldiers, and their stories of sacrifice that will be kept close to the hearts of the Upper Yarra people for this year’s Anzac day.
