ONE hundred years on from the battle that saw him awarded a Victoria Cross, it is time for Bathurst to finally erect a more fitting memorial to Lieutenant Colonel Blair Wark.
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In recent years, Bathurst has dedicated itself to properly recording and recognising our city’s history.
The bicentenary in 2015 focused our attention on the arrival of European settlers and also compelled us to consider the impact on local Indigenous communities.
We took the chance to revisit the past – its highs and lows – and committed to preserving what we could of our history.
And while the city does have much to be proud of, the military achievements of Lt Col Wark remain something of a blackspot.
Lt Col Wark was an incredible man and incredible World War One leader, yet many in our city have not heard of him.
At the age of just 24 he was handed temporary command of the 32nd Battalion in operations against the Hindenburg line that began on September 29, 1918.
According to the Australian Dictionary of Biography, Wark often moved ahead of his troops in the face of heavy fire during battle.
“He secured the help of a passing tank near Bellicourt and attached 200 leaderless Americans to his command before rushing a battery of 77mm guns which were firing at his rear companies: he captured four guns and 10 of their crews,” the citation states.
“With two non-commissioned officers, he surprised and captured 50 Germans near Magny-la-Fosse. On 1 October he ‘dashed forward and silenced machine-guns which were causing heavy casualties’.”
For his efforts, he was awarded the Victoria Cross, joining just 100 Australians to have been awarded the VC in more than 100 years of military campaigns.
It is the highest award available for Australian servicemen and women, awarded for outstanding acts of bravery in wartime.
Recent recipients, including Mark Donaldson and Ben Roberts-Smith, have rightly been hailed as national heroes with a profile to match.
Now it is time for Bathurst to honour a great hero from the past, a Bathurst-born hero who was educated here before heading off into the world beyond.
When Peter Brock died in 2006 it took just a couple of years for our city to honour his memory with a statue.
It’s taken 100 years, but it’s time for us to honour Lieutenant Colonel Blair Wark the same way.