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War horse One month on from the unveiling of a statue of Sandy the warhorse, Elaine Brogan from Sunbury has released a book commemorating the only horse to come home from World War I. Donated to the war effort by the O’Donnell family, Sandy caught the eye of major general William Bridges who chose Sandy as his favourite horse. It was the major general’s dying wish to be reunited with his horse. Sandy returned to Melbourne and became ill in 1923. A pair of taxidermists decided that only his head would be saved. In May that year, Sandy was euthanized and the taxidermists got to work. Sandy’s skeleton was buried at the Maribyrnong Army Depot. On Saturday, May 20, 100 years on from his death, a life-sized bronze statue of Sandy was unveiled in Tallangatta where he was born. Ms Brogan has written a book to honour Sanday called ‘Minus His Head and Hooves’. “I have a deep love for animals and horses and I want to be their voice and tell their stories,” she said. “The men and women in the war did it hard but so did the horses, Sandy came back and represents all of those horses.”
Elaine Brogan with her book, at the place where warhorse Sandy is partly buried. (Damjan Janevski) 341622_02
Growing vegetation fight By Zoe Moffatt Macedon Ranges residents have spoken against Parks Victoria’s proposal to remove about 0.71 hectares of vegetation on Mount Macedon, amid debate about Anzac legacy and growing climate anxiety. In a meeting on June 14, Macedon Ranges council heard from submitters about the removal of vegetation to re-establish view lines to and from the Memorial Cross, which has been limited since the cross was refurbished in 2007. Council received 72 submissions in regards to the application – 55 objections and 17 letters
of support – with many submitters speaking at the meeting. One resident objected to the vegetation removal and said the environment must be protected. “I previously had great respect for the cross, what it represents and how veterans fought to save our way of life,” the resident said. “But we must have respect for our environment. “We now have a clear understanding of the importance of protecting our environment … [and] it’s imperative to protect our future. “I believe this application for ecological destruction has the potential to taint the veterans’ important legacy … [and] I fear the applicants and those behind it will be
remembered for exacerbating the mental health problems associated with climate anxiety.” Dawn service president and member of the Mount Macedon memorial cross committee of management Bruce Mildenhall addressed council and urged the vegetation to be removed. “We believe the planning application is the minimum work that should be completed to restore the view lines,” Mr Mildenhall said. “The significance of the view lines to the commemoration community … cannot be overstated … [with] the annual dawn service now enveloped by a curtain of trees.” Mr Mildenhall said there would not be a proposal or application if Parks Victoria had
continued to carry out maintenance works on the view lines since the last trim in 2011. “What was an annual thing with, you know, a couple of blokes and a Ute and a chainsaw has now become a $120,000 project of this significance,” he said. A Parks Victoria spokesperson said it had not previously “trimmed” trees around the cross, and work done in 2011 involved the removal of trees to restore the viewscape. The proposed works will cover a smaller footprint than the 2011 program, the spokesperson said. The application will be determined at a meeting on June 28.
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