Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Contributed by the great granddaughter of Gurney who attends Our Lady Sacred Heart College, South Australia

On the 30th of April 1942, at age 29, another young Australian man enlisted, Cyril Reginald Gurney.

Born on the 17th of January 1913 in Fowlers Bay, South Australia, to Fredrick Edgar Beltram Gurney (1879 - 1972) and Eliza Lamb Gurney {1886 - 1951); Cyril grew up in Coorabie, a small country town, on the far west coast of South Australia. He was the third born of 9 siblings, all of whom attended Wookata School, a stone Shepherds hut over 10km from their house. The siblings would walk to school every day, except, if lucky, would all board one poor horse and ride to school. Growing up on the family farm named Hillview, there was never much time for play, however, the family did enjoy going on picnics and fishing.

In the 1930s, young brothers Roy and Cyril Gurney were rabbit trapping on the edge of the Nullarbor Plains. Being graziers on their family farm, they noticed the grassy plains were scattered with salt bush and blue bush, considered excellent grazing country. They applied to the Department of Lands to take up property here but were refused due to lack of water for stock (Best, 1999). The brothers set out to prove water could be supplied and prove it they did! By pumping water from the cave. It was a great ettingthe pump and equipment down in the cave, and to water level. It involved ladders made from fencing wire, to reach 400 feet below, and an overland car engine for the pump (Best, 1999); taking many months of hard yakka. Alongside this, accompanied by hisyounger brother Claude, Cyril served 3 years in Australia during the Second World War.

Enlisting on the 30th of April 1942, in Coorabie South Australia, at age 29, Cyril was a part of the 43rd Australian Infantry Battalion. The 43rd Australian Army Infantry unit was a part of the all-volunteer Australian Imperial Force, originally formed during the First World War. After WWl it became a part-time unit in South Australia, until 1930, when it merged with the 48th Battalion (AVM, 2022). During the Second World War, the Battalion was briefly re-raised between 1942 and 1944. Cyril commenced full time duty on the 27/7/42, in South Australia. There were training camps all over Australia, and for the next few months, Cyril had basic training in gun handling, warfare tactics, etc. From the 20/9/42 to 8/10/42 Cyril was granted leave without pay, a time not long enough to make the journey back home to the west coast. Instead, he stayed with his Sister in Strathalbyn. It was during this leave where he first met Audrey, his "soulmate". Audrey recalls their first meeting:

I was a member of the Women's Agricultural Bureau and Red Cross. Holding Miss Red Cross competitions, I was an entrant one year and as a fund raiser, with my friend, we sold badges with a photo of myself on it. A few nights later at a dance, a soldier asked me for a dance. He said, "I've got a badge with your photo on it ", and this soldier was Cyril Gurney." (Audrey Gurney, n.d.) This was the beginning of a 42-year marriage.
 

Once returning from leave on the 8/10/42, Cyril underwent constant training procedures in SA, alongside the men of the 43rd Battalion. From the 1/11/42 to the 5/11/42 they were granted special leave, having completed required training, and not being needed on the front line. In early 1943, the Battalion was entrained to the North, where they joined the NT 43rd Battalion forces. It was during this time where Cyril first encountered front-line action. At the time, Darwin was a vital asset in Australia's defence against the Japanese empire. Having a port, and airfield facilities, Darwin was used to deploy Australian troops to the Dutch East Indies, meaning there was a large military presence.

Beginning on the 19th of February 1942, Darwin was caught amidst aerial raids from Japanese fighters and bombers. Many more air attacks were made in the following months on various towns in the Northern Territory and Northern Australia. During these attacks, Cyril witnessed his first front line action. Against 30-40 Japanese fighters at a time, the 43rd Battalion held their ground. Although the bombing attacks where not a precursor to invasion (AVM, 2021), they did stunt the use of Darwin's port facilities, and Australia's presence in the pacific. It was therefore vital for Darwin to prepare and regain strength. Cyril was among those who helped the community of Darwin clean up and restore military bases. During his time in the NT Cyril went 'overseas' on a boat just out of Darwin, to scout for possible Japanese invasion, a hallmark of the first time he left his home country.

Leaving Darwin on the 24/3/43, Cyril and the men of the 43rd Battalion were back in South Australia for 2 months offurthertraining, before being entrained to Queensland on the 29/05/1943 for a years' worth of training. Training camps in Queensland were ideal for acclimatising troops to the tropical conditions in areas such as Papua New Guinea (VWM, 2022). Many US Army and Marine troops would also train in Queensland, for practice of Jungle Warfare. Here, Cyril also helped the people of Townsville and Mossman in the Northern Parts of Queensland, who also faced Japanese attacks.

Cyril was in and out of leave in the following months, until he was evacuated to the 121AGH (Australian General Hospital), in Northfield, South Australia, due to severe dermatitis. Cyril was classed in the B2 health class, meaning he was able to walk 8 km, see and hear sufficiently for ordinary purposes, but was unable to partake in long marches and required treatment 3 times a week indefinitely. He wasn't discharged until the 18/8/44, in which the 43rd Battalion then saw leave, and seasonal pay, but never front-line action, before being disbanded; and members discharged in late 1944. Cyril was discharged on the 13/11/44, as a Private.

Cyril then re-joined his brother Roy on the Nullarbor, to pump water from the Koonalda Cave, a Limestone sinkhole. The first water flowed from the pipe in June 1945, supplying stock water for the next four and half decades. The Gurney brothers were granted a 99-year lease on the  property, and this momentous event saw Cyril marry Audrey on the 28th July 1945, in the Methodist Church at Strathalbyn; and the couple become the first settlers of Koonalda. The couple had 6 children, living in a family home built from disused railway sleepers, which Cyril had carted in from an old railway line (Best, 1999). Local Indigenous men would help Cyril at Koonalda Station, being kept busy running sheep (the most being 10,000 head), as well as maintaining fences, water pumps, hunting dingos, organizing shearing etc. The family were also kept busy serving

petrol to the ever-increasing travelling public after WW2 and established a small shop in which various souvenirs were sold, such as the Gurney car stickers, issued for a donation to raise money for The Bush Church Aid Society. Hence the beginning of the Nullarbor Tourist Trade! Audrey managed housekeeping and being a schoolteacher to 6 kids alongside.

The family of Cyril and Audrey were all married by the mid- 1970s, and in 1984, with failing health, Cyril and Audrey were forced to move back to Coorabie. Cyril's boys took over the Koonalda Station, forming 'Koonalda Pastoral Company'. Cyril passed away on the 4th of October 1987, of respiratory failure in Ceduna Hospital; and was laid to rest on the 6th of October in the Coorabie Cemetery, alongside his parents and baby sister.

The Australian ideals originate from Australian Egalitarianism, with the belief of fairness and equality; but most importantly, 'helping your mates when the chips are down' (Pearson's, 2012). The concept of mateship reflects the Australian spirit, and was a common idiom taken to war, as companionship lifted morale. Signing up alongside his brother Claude, and their cousins, Terry, Max, Brice and Bruce, it was quoted "the local community were so proud of these few local boys in uniform, preparing to fight for their country" (Best, 1999). In the Northern parts of Australia, damaged and harmed by the Japanese aerial attacks, Cyril volunteered and helped all those who had been affected.

Cyril was a gallant soldier who knew World War 2 was a scene of atrocity, that took the lives of so many Australians. Despite this, he knew he had to fight to protect, not only his family, but the future of his country. Each day went by with Cyril never knowing if he were to be one of the men on the front line. He travelled all around Australia training, three years, persevering, knowing there was a life back in Coorabie, South Australia, and a soulmate waiting for him in Strathalbyn; but he waited and was prepared to fight for his country, right till the end of the war.

Reference List:

Websites:

l.    Australian War Memorial n,d. Australia under attack, Virtual War Memorial, Australia, accessed 30 April 2022,_

2.     Australian War Memorial, n.d, "What does AMR&O 253A (l)(n) mean?", Home/ Australian War Memorial, accessed 1 May 2022, available at https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/b1og/what-does-amro-2S3a-1n-mean

3.     Awm.gov.au. n.d., 43rd Australian Infantry Battalion, accessed 17 May 2022, <https://www.awm.gov.a u/collection/US1483>

4.     Cyril Reginald Gurney - Ancestry.com, n.d, Ancestry®/ Family Tree, Genealogy & Family History Records, accessed 30 April 2022, https://www.ancestry.com/search/categories/42/?name=Cyril+Reginald  Gurney

5.     DVA (Department of Veterans' Affairs) (2021), Australia and the Second World War, DVA Anzac Portal, accessed 30 April 2022, http://anzacportal.dva.gov.au/wars-and- missions/world-war-ii-1939-1945/australia-and-second-world-war

6.    National Archives of Australia n.d., Record search, Australian Government, Australia, accessed 30 April 2021, <https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ListingReports/ltemslisting.as

7.     National Archives of Australia. n.d, Abbreviations used in World War I and World War II service records, accessed 1 May 2022, https://www.naa.gov.au/explore-collection/defence­ and-war-service-records/researching-war-service/abbreviations-used-world-war-i-and­ world-war-ii-service-records

8.     Trove.nla.gov.au. n.d, Trove, accessed 1 May  2022, https://trove.nla.gov.au/

9.     Veterens SA n.d., World War two, Government of South Australia, South Australia, accessed 30April 2022, <https://veteranssa.sa.gov.au/>.

10.   Virtual war Memorial n.d., Explore people, Virtual War memorial Australia, Australia, accessed 30 April 2022, <https://vwma.org.au/explore/people/601926>.

11.  Visual-arts-cork.com. n.d., Koonalda Cave Art: Characteristics of Aboriginal Finger-Fluting, accessed  17  May  2022, <http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/prehistoric/koonalda-cave-art. htm#:~:text=Koonalda%20Cave%20is%20a%201imesto ne,size%20to%20a%20sports%20s tadium.>

Books:

Best, R., 1999. The Gurney Family Tree and History from East to West. Queensland, Australia: Colour 2 Colour, pp. 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 197

Pearson History_9 2012, Australian Curriculum, Australia.

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Other:

Coorabie WW2 honour roll. Coorabie, South Australia. l't April 2022. Plaque.

Victor Harbour RSL. Victor Harbour, South Australia. 30th April 2022. Place.

Fowlers Bay RSL. Fowlers Bay, South Australia. 30th April 2022. Place.

Thank you to Cyril's relatives and friends, particularly Debby Kloock, for sharing personal stories and images.