Tongala is the only site in Australia with a war memorial link from the lighthorse to Vietnam, with the goal to extend that to the peacekeeping and modern conflicts that have dominated the last two decades.
There are currently two components to the site, with a third scheduled for the future to be built in close proximity to the current memorials.
“When it all comes together people will be able to come to Tongala to see a memorial recognising 120 years of Australian veterans who had served our country in wartime,” Mr Thompson said.
Mr Thompson, who was the driving force behind the development of the Avenue of Honour at Tongala in 2004, said last week the GV Water involvement would allow for gardens to be laid in phase two of the memorial development.
“We have a unique memorial here in Tongala, that recognises the Lighthorse of World War I right through the the cavalry members of the Vietnam conflict,” he said.
Mr Thompson also unveiled plans for the memorial to be expanded to include recognition of Australian serviceman who had served in war and peace keeping missions in Iraq, Afghanistan, East Timor and other locations around the world.
An honorary life member of the 3rd Cavalry Regiment (Vietnam) Association, the long-time Tongala resident said there would be $120,000 spent on renovating the war memorial precinct.
He met with Goulburn Valley Water’s manager of regional operations, Daryl Bennett, on site last week to announce the continued support of the organisation to the memorial.
GV Water has recently installed a light at the entrance to the Avenue of Honour and has made a commitment to work with the memorial group to assist with supply of water to the planned garden development on the site.
With support from the Shire of Campaspe, the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Tongala Community Bank (Bendigo Bank), along with members of the Vietnam Cavalry Association, the Avenue of Honour memorial has been built.
Mr Thompson said his vision was for Tongala to play a unique part in remembering our servicemen and women.
The national armoured corps Avenue of Honour (Vietnam), currently home to a Centurion tank, was opened by the Governor-General in front of 4000 people.
Mr Thompson has been working on the concept for 18 years and said the assistance of organisations like GV Water had contributed to the project’s success.
“There is no power or water connection to the Avenue of Honour area and we wanted a light to illuminate the entrance,” Mr Thompson said.
GV Water is working with Mr Thompson and his team to install facilities which will enable the facility to be more easily maintained.
“Our next phase will be to install a red asphalt path through the centre as a walkway from the Avenue of Honour entrance to the tank.
“The red asphalt will represent the soil of Vietnam,” he said.
“We also hope to have the gardens in place some time in February,” he explained.
In the meantime the new flood light will draw more attention to the memorial to the Australian involvement in the Vietnam war.
