Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

As the colonies of Australia were headed towards federation at the end of the 19th Century, the colony of Western Australia was lured to join this new nation by promise of a transcontinental railway, linking this isolated western region with the rest of the eastern colonies.

A skeleton rail link extended from the east to the west coasts of Australia except for a 1,996 kilometer gap in the system between Kalgoorlie in Western Australia and Port Augusta in South Australia.

The construction of the missing railway connection began in 1912 and took five years to complete. Following surveying of the route, steel rails needed to be cast and timber sleepers had to be cut for hardwood forests. At a spacing between sleepers of about 2’6” (~70 cm), around 3 million sleepers would have been needed to construct a single track between Kalgoolie and Port Augusta.

The south-western corner of Western Australia is blessed with some of the tallest trees in the world. The tallest, the Karri tree (Eucalyptus diversicolor) grows up to 80 metres tall but has a reputation for being prone to termite attack. The other major tree species of Western Australia’s tall forests, Jarrah (E.marginata), only grows to 40-50 metres in height, but is very durable and prized for sleepers, poles, decking and heavy construction. No doubt the Jarrah forests of Western Australia contributed mightily to the huge number of sleepers being sought for the transcontinental railway link between 1912 and 1917.
Cutting Jarrah forests in the early 1900’s was manual work using axes in the main. Timber cutters would be based throughout the forests to hand-fell and used axes and adzes to cut up and dress the prized timbers into railway sleepers.

Jobs in the second decade of the 20th century were hard to come by, and Albert Ernest Byrne from the northern suburbs of Melbourne boarded a streamer for Albany to follow the lure of regular work in the jarrah and karri forests. Albert, a sleeper cutter was based in Holyoake, Western Australia and endured many nights in the bush with relatively little cover and often harsh conditions. The work and conditions would have made him into a strong and wiry man

No doubt the construction of the trans-continental railway would have been completed in a shorter time than five years, but on June 28, 1914, of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne was assassinated. The murder triggered a chain of events and, within 33 days, World War I broke out in Europe on August 1, 1914. The conflict dragged on until a truce took effect on November 11, 1918, leading to the controversial, one-sided Treaty of Versailles, which was signed on June 28, 1919.

The Great War threatened Great Britain. From across the globe, men from every Commonwealth country vowed to defend the “Mother Country” and quickly enlisted to fight the Germans on many European fields of battle. The toll for casualties at Gallipoli in Turkey and the Western Front in France and Belgium was staggering. The call to arms to protect the Mother Country and replace fallen soldiers was strong and relentless. Two referenda in Australia (Oct 1916, Dec 1917) attempted to enact conscription to further boost the ranks of fighting fodder, but both were defeated (albeit not by huge margins). All of the Australian Imperial Forces rank and file soldiers in the Great War were volunteers.

Albert Ernest Byrne had travelled back home to Northcote, and enlisted (at age 26) in the Australian Imperial Forces (AIF) to join the European battle (Service No. 19961) on 26 January 1916 (on what in 1935 became known as Australia Day).

Embarking for the Western Front from Melbourne on board HMAT A7 Medic on 20 May 1916, Albert was based with the Field Artillery Brigade 8, Battery 31 and was involved in fighting in in Belgium (Polygon Wood) and in northern France (Somme). His major role was as a “gunner” moving and firing heavy artillery against the German Front Line, but notably he received two military commendations (in Sept 1917 as a communications runner and in April 1918 repairing communication lines) for conspicuous bravery under heavy enemy bombardment:

Military Medal
'On the 26th September, 1917, at POLYGON WOOD, Gunner BYRNE acted as runner to the Artillery Liaison Officer (Lieutenant I.K. Harrison). He showed conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty in carrying important messages under heavy hostile fire, and in addition, voluntarily assisted the Infantry in other important messages, during this work passing repeatedly through heavy enemy barrages throughout the day.' (Source: 'Commonwealth Gazette' No. 95 Date: 27 June 1918);
Bar to Military Medal
'On 24th April, 1918, between the Rivers SOMME and ANCRE, east of HEILLY, during the exceptionally heavy enemy bombardment with H.E. (Heavy Explosives) and gas, this N.C.O. displayed great courage and devotion to duty whilst acting as linesman for the Battery. For several hours under the heaviest shell fire he was out repairing telephone lines, endeavouring to maintain communication with Group Headquarters, under the most severe conditions. His complete disregard for personal safety, and devotion to duty, set a splendid example to all ranks.' (Source: 'Commonwealth Gazette' No. 75 Date: 17 June 1919)
Artillery gunners were responsible for moving their equipment (often without the support of horses), through the shell-hole riddled and deep mud of the forward trenches, to be in place to fire shells into the enemy trenches which at times were only 40 metres from the Allied trenches. Naturally they also came under heavy and repetitive artillery fire from the enemy. Troops were given a break (from the front line trenches) in support trenches and billeted in nearby villages. Artillery gunners (like other soldiers) occasionally were granted a reprieve from the fighting and decamped for a hot bath, a secure sleeping place and a long-anticipated change of underwear in the “back lines” areas. Here they came in regular contact with the French people they were fighting to protect.
While in northern France (no doubt while billeted new Armentieres) adjacent to the Belgium border, Albert Byrne met a young French woman with whom he became quite smitten. Bernadette Verbeque was a young “mademoiselle from Armentieres” who, along with many others, helped the Allied troops with laundry and sometimes meals as they battled the German Army.
So smitten was Albert Byrne with this French woman that after he returned to Melbourne Australia, he convinced his family to sponsor Bernadette to travel to Australia. Miss Bernadette Verbeque, aged 22, arrived in Melbourne aboard the Bremen (out of London) on 21 July 1920, and within 3 weeks had married Albert Byrne on 14 August 1920 at St Francis’ Church, Melbourne. They settled in Reservoir, several kilometres north of Albert’s Northcote family home, where they raised three children (Robert, Agnes and Alex), and established the Byrne family in the northern suburbs of Melbourne. Bernadette Byrne carried the mustard gas scars of the Great War, recognisable by a deep-throated cough, throughout her life in Australia.
Bernadette’s image (as a young French woman) was used in a commemorative memorial to the involvement of French Women during World War 1 on the 80th anniversary of the Armistrice in 1998. The glass memorial stands in a car park of the former library building in Armentieres, where it is mostly forgotten and universally unseen as it deteriorates from lack of maintenance. The hope that it may be revived, restored and repositioned as part of the centenary celebrations of the Great War would be a fitting way to recognize for bonds and long distance connections that were created between the French and Australians during (and after) the frightful events of 1914-1918.
Son Alex drowned in Reservoir Lake and Robert Henri Byrne served during WWII and later held the position of Honorary Treasurer at the Reservoir Returned Services Club for 35 years.