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for more detail on Major General George Alan Vasey CB CBE DSO and Bar **************************************************** and then scroll down to "PART ONE ... North to East Section" which includes notes on the Major General **************************************************** for more details on the Air Crash mentioned on the Plaque below |
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Email from Gordon McKauge ... Saturday 21st April 2012 Geoff and Sharon Whilst trying to get my head around the complexities of Facebook, I have just come across your presentation about the Marlin Coast Memorial What an excellent job you have done !! I am delighted that someone has gone to the trouble of preserving my humble attempt to put the war involvement of the Northern Beaches on record When I had the Memorial moved, after the vandals threatened its existence in CoastWatcher Park, I used to raise the flag every morning and take it down at night, in the proper Naval tradition On leaving to become a farmer in the Gympie district, I had been fearful that it would be forgotten and abandoned But there it is, being used on ANZAC Day and looking better kept than it ever did Many, many thanks for your efforts, not only from me, but from my departed farther who will be watching from somewhere Very best wishes ... Gordon McKauge Reply from Geoff ... Saturday 21st April 2012 THANK YOU !! I am just rushing out, so I will send a 'proper reply' over the next day or two Regards ... Geoff Reply from Geoff ... Saturday 5th May 2012 MARLIN COAST MEMORIAL ... Main Index Page ... HERE Hello once again, Gordon I remember putting all this information together, and I am really, really pleased that you are happy with the final result !! It started when I began researching my Father's military service and I discovered that he had trained here at Trinity Beach during the war years There is more detail about Dad ... HERE I mentioned my research to our neighbour, David Johns and he said he had these Memorial Notes written by yourself Fantastic !! ... I borrowed them and began putting everything together !! David and his wife, Jocey, attend ANZAC Day Services at Trinity Beach and you probably saw their photos on the above web page ... they are also receiving a copy of this email Following the Dawn Service last week, I have now added four photos to the bottom of the above page A huge crowd, and it gets bigger as each year goes by There is also a shot of the Wreaths displayed at the local Primary School I must say that I was disappointed with the Cairns RSL Branch Before speaking to David, I had approached them about the Memorial and they stated that they did not have any details, not even a single photo !! I could not believe it !! ...... but maybe the person I spoke to just could not be bothered looking Then, when the pages were finished, I sent them a link and said that they could use the pictures and information if they wished I did not receive any replies or acknowledgment ... oh, well !! As mentioned, the ANZAC Day crowds are growing ... this Memorial will never be forgotten !! Regards ... Geoff Note from Davis Johns ... Saturday 5th May 2012 From small plantings great things grow !! Yes, Gordon, your notes are great I have to say Geoff is a dab on the web and we have to thank him for providing such wide spread availability of your account of the military history that is Trinity Beach You may not know that the Council have suceeded, at this stage, in blocking development of Taylor Point Jocey and I keep an eye on your old home site with its two grand town houses overlooking that splendid bit of beach Mind you, noone emulates your brave daily swim with the stingers !! We still remember that farewell party you had !! By the way, I kept the flag raising going for a while but had to give up as volunteer raisers fell out and we were away a lot Best wishes ... David Email from Gordon McKauge ... Sunday 6th May 2012 Geoff Many thanks for your e-mail and the excellent photos of ANZAC Day at the Memorial I am astounded that so many Trinity Beach people turned out for this very important occasion and it is heart warming to see A couple of little stories which you might find of interest concerning the Memorial It was installed originally in CoastWatcher park with a very well attended opening which included the then Mayor, Tom Pyne and myself as hosts Unfortunately, it became the target of young vandals who frequented the park, and despite locking a steel lid over it at night and stowing the flag each evening, it became more and more derelict looking One evening I actually went to the park and caught the kids and sat them down and had a long talk with them, based on the question that any of them had fathers who went to the war Recruited them to become the custodians of the Memorial and beat up any other kids who might harm it Worked for a while but I guess their gang members changed When it was decided to move it, I approached the Council on the basis of - "we don't want any assistance at all with the move, just permission to do it with our own resources" I approached the owner of the pub, Bebe Mellick and the licensee Tom Hedley and they lent on their builders who provided the truck, crane and other equipment and the cement, brickies and labourers It was quite an operation, and very successful There was also an issue with the accuracy of the plaque, when a character who saw himself as the authority on wartime Cairns, attacked me publicly His gripe was about the one mistake that was the result of a typo It refers to a bomb scare at Miallo, instead of Myola (or vice versa) and understandable confusion Some of the directions are a little out now, such as the arrow to Taylor Point, and that is because of the shift from the park where the original compass readings were taken So much for the Memorial As the WW2 veterans die off, next in turn will be the demise of the 'eye witnesses' like myself, who were children during the war I remember spending a night in the Beach Commandos camp at Dead Man's Creek with my father's men after being smuggled through a roadblock at Stratford which prevented any civilians venturing north of the Barron River If any newcomers are interested in comment on wartime Trinity Beach, I did write a column for the local free paper for some years, and there could be a lot of stories in their archives Stories about things like the carrier pigeon loft located at the southern end of the beach where the birds were bred for use by barge crews from Taylor Point who operated behind enemy lines in New Guinea without radios When they were reprimanded for returning to base with too many birds, a sign that they hadn't been reporting in regularly, they just ate the excess birds Should also be some interesting photos in the Cairns Post archives of the unveiling of the Naval Beach Commandos Memorial Wall near the shop corner My father was in a wheel chair and the Navy brought a landing craft around to the beach to reenact a beach landing I have always thought that the history of the beach is very important because, if for no other reason, it gives newcomers a sense of belonging Your splendid efforts contribute significantly to this concept Thank you ... Gordon McKauge |