The very latest news is on our Defence Shed Wagga Wagga | Facebook page.
24 May 2021 NEW CNC LASER CUTTER
A massive THANK YOU to Tim Lewis (right) from Veteran Brewing Co. for the donation which helped us buy a CNC Laser Cutter! And great work by Dave & Steve getting it all set up. We made our ‘Thank You’ right there on the spot while Tim watched. And a big Thank You to InnoClub which helped get Veteran Brewing Co. off the ground via the entrepreneur workshop for veterans, held in Wagga at the Wagga RSL Club back in February.
Laser Cutter lessons & prac: Thursdays 7pm-8pm for DSWW members
21 May 2021 Kapooka Tragedy Anniversary
On a crisp, clear May afternoon in 1945 Australia suffered its worst military training accident.
An explosion at the Kapooka Army Base killed 26 men. Trainee sappers (engineers) and Royal Australian Engineers Training Centre staff were conducting training in the preparation of hand charges when a massive explosion destroyed the dugout they were in, and killed 26 men. One man survived – Sapper Allen Bartlett, who was profoundly deafened and badly injured after the force of the explosion imbedded him in the clay wall.
One of the instructors killed was Sgt Herbert ‘Jack’ Pomeroy. It was his birthday.
The funeral brought the town of Wagga Wagga to a standstill, with four semi trailers carrying the coffins of the soldiers through the town. About half the town’s population lined the street to watch this part of the funeral – Australia’s largest military funeral.
For many years this event had been considered a ‘forgotten tragedy’, but now a memorial near the site of the explosion ensures families, the military and members of the public can pass by and remember what happened at 2.45pm on May 21st 1945.
Until a few years ago the site was marked by an inconspicuous plaque. The actual site of the bunker now lies on private land just across from the memorial, and a change in boundary fencing means the memorial site is open to the community – previously it had been within the lines of the Kapooka Military Area. Each year the memory of these soldiers is honoured with a special service at the memorial site, marking the time of the explosion.
ADF, (words – Anne Delaney)