Horsemen Honoured By Israel
Sun Herald
Sunday April 20, 2008
THE Australian Light Horseman is frozen in time, his body low over his horse's head as it leaps a sandbag wall, waving his bayonet above his emu feathered hat as he shouts at the enemy.
His statue will be unveiled in Beersheba, Israel, next Monday to mark 90 years since the famous charge of the 500 Light Horsemen against the Turkish-occupied town in what was then Palestine.Recognised as the last successful cavalry charge, the action in which 67 Australians died, opened the way for the British to capture Jerusalem and the establishment of the British Mandate in Palestine.Governor-General Michael Jeffery will fly to Israel with an honour guard to join Israel's President Shimon Peres in dedicating the statue - the centrepiece of the Park of the Australian Soldier. The memorial was built with $3 million donated by businessman Dick Pratt. Sculptor Peter Corlett moulded the three-metre bronze work in his Melbourne studio. The park honours all Australian soldiers who have fought in the Middle East since. Among the honour guard will be 91-year-old Guyra farmer Ted Mulligan. In 1938, he joined the 12th Light Horse Regiment, one of the two regiments that rode at Beersheba. He fought in Lae, New Guinea during World War II.
© 2008 Sun Herald
