‘Sadness and pride’: Tallygaroopna Anzac Day at historic hall

By Anna McGuinness

Apr 25, 2022

About 50 people gathered at the Tallygaroopna Soldiers’ Memorial Hall to recognise and remember on Anzac Day with a wreath-laying ceremony.

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Larsen family members Shirley, Margaret, Judy and Ian were the special guests at the service and laid the wreath outside the hall.

Mr Larsen lived in Tallygaroopna until he was 16, when he joined the army and served for 20 years with the Royal Australian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers.

Teamwork: The service was organised by the Tallygaroopna Memorial Hall committee. Photo by Anna McGuinness

He retired to Brisbane and recently returned to the Goulburn Valley.

Mr Larsen’s father was in the National Service and his sister was in the army.

He said he hoped future generations would continue to acknowledge and remember “in some way”.

Strong ties: Larsen family members Judy Marshall, Ian Larsen, Shirley Larsen and Margaret Pell were special guests at the service. Photo by Anna McGuinness

“It’s all sorts of mixed feelings – sadness and pride,” Mr Larsen said.

“Sadness for those who fell, pride for those who were willing to step up.”

During the ceremony, memorial hall committee member Lyn Hoffman shared some of the hall’s history, including the connection to Brigadier Sir Murray Bourchier, who laid the foundation stone.

After a distinguished military service, including serving in Gallipoli for seven months, he returned to Strathmerton and farmed at Katandra.

Manning the barbecue: Tallygaroopna Lions’ Russell Guppy, Ian Waite and Rod Taylor prepare a barbecue lunch. Photo by Anna McGuinness

A statue of Sir Murray was unveiled in Shepparton’s Queens Gardens on Sunday, April 24.

The hall itself was opened on June 9, 1924, and features a World War I honour roll listing the 42 fallen and returned soldiers and one nurse from the district who served.

The bronze cannon that sits on the roof of the hall is a German minenwerfer, which was restored by committee secretary and treasurer Tony Farrell in 2015.

The dugout below the hall was opened for the day for people to have a look at the space used as the RSL Sub-branch clubroom for 21 local veterans.