VENABLES, Ernest Cecil Walter
| Service Number: | 2249 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 16 January 1916, Enlisted at Queanbeyan, NSW |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 55th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Bolara, New South Wales, Australia, 1892 |
| Home Town: | Queanbeyan, Queanbeyan, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Boorowa, New South Wales, Australia, 1972, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Adaminaby General Cemetery (New), NSW |
| Memorials: | Adaminaby War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 16 Jan 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2249, 55th Infantry Battalion, Enlisted at Queanbeyan, NSW | |
|---|---|---|
| 4 Sep 1916: | Involvement Private, 2249, 55th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '19' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Port Sydney embarkation_ship_number: A15 public_note: '' | |
| 4 Sep 1916: | Embarked Private, 2249, 55th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Port Sydney, Sydney | |
| 1 Nov 1917: | Discharged AIF WW1, Private, 2249, Discharged at the 2nd Military District due to loss of an eye |
SNOWY RIVER SOLDIERS
Snowy River Soldiers
Ten soldiers, part of the 4th Reinforcements for the 55th Battalion sailed from Sydney to England. They stopped in Melbourne for some free time, and to regain their land legs, and they wrote a short letter and addressed it to the local newspaper, the Adaminaby Advocate.
The signed letter was then sealed in a bottle and dropped into Port Phillip Bay.
The soldiers continued on their sea journey and finally disembarked in Plymouth, England, on October 29th.
SNOWY RIVER SOLDIERS
Message by Bottle Post
The following letter, written by several “The Men from Snowy River”, was picked up in a bottle on the beach near Cape Schanck by Misses R. Russell and E. Cairns. It was addressed to the editor of the Adaminaby Advocate:
Going through the Melbourne Heads. We are just writing you a note, if ever you get it, to say we had a good time all the way from Sydney, all on board being fairly well today, but some of the Snowies were a bit seasick, as it was a bit rough. We had a few hours leave in Melbourne and had a good look round. The following send their names and wish to be remembered to friends in their town of Adaminaby: S. H. Turner, E. Power, F. J. Rees, Alf Tozer, G. Mansfield, J. Turner, A. Goodman, J. J. O’Neill, E. C. W. Venables, L. Freebody.
Submitted 26 February 2026 by Maree Woods
Biography contributed by Carol Foster
Son of Thomas Venables and Ellen Venables of Near Railway Station, Queanbeyan, NSW
Commenced return to Australia on 27 July 1917 aboard HT Demosthenes disembarking on 29 September 1917
Medal: British War Medal
During 1918c Ernest married Lila Alice Luton in Cooma, NSW