Dajarra has a sparkling new memorial to commemorate Anzac Day this year.
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On Tuesday Cloncurry Shire Council unveiled the memorial which honours Dajarra’s Indigenous First World War digger Peter Craigie and his surviving relatives including son Terry Craigie and grandsons Joe Rogers and Tom Simmons were there to mark the occasion as were local community members and students from Dajarra State School.
Previously, people in Dajarra have had no significant place to gather and commemorate key historical service dates such as Anzac or Remembrance Day and Mayor Greg Campbell called it a proud moment for Dajarra and the shire of Cloncurry.
The permanent memorial site, funded by a Queensland Anzac Centenary grant, is located at the Dajarra Caravan Park on Letham Street and includes a plaque acknowledging the significant contribution of all servicemen and women, and a special tribute to Peter Craigie.
Craigie rode his horse from Birdsville to Adelaide to volunteer in December 1915 and served on the Western Front from 1916 to 1918 before returning to his wife Daisy and his droving life in Birdsville and later Dajarra.
“Our Dajarra Anzac Memorial will be an important physical reminder connecting residents and visitors to our rich Anzac history,” Cr Campbell said.
“We are extremely proud of the contribution of all those men and women who have served and are currently serving. It is also very important to celebrate how rural and outback Australia is interwoven with the legend of the Anzacs.
“The hundred year old story of Peter Craigie will no doubt add to the pride the Dajarra community already has and provides a point of difference which will encourage visitors to the Shire.”
Cr Campbell says the project had the full support of the Dajarra State School recognising it will ensure the local Anzac legacy is passed onto Dajarra’s next generation. “Every town with a state school should have an Anzac memorial,” he said.
“The Memorial helps bring our history to life and will be an excellent educational tool, Dajarra students can celebrate the contribution of one of their own and appreciate the sacrifices that all Anzacs made.”
The project was made possible by $4021 of funding provided by the Queensland Anzac Centenary grants program which supported the delivery of landscaping, white rock structures and a memorial plaque.