Book and Videos

LUCAS DUFFY SPEECH – ANZAC DAY 2023

Many thanks again to Lucas Duffy, who was our key speaker at our 2023 Anzac Day service. Lucas Duffy spoke very eloquently about his family’s long history of honoring those who served in the war. Lucas’s extended family has been visiting the tree of his great grandfather, John Thomas O’Connor, since before Lucas was born. Many thanks also to Terry Hope for recording and sharing this speech.

Please view Lucas Duffy’s speech below:

SENTINELS OF SERVICE: VOLUNTEERS OF THE KINGSTON AVENUE OF HONOUR 2ND EDITION
Sentinels of Service is a comprehensive record, written by Peter Rickard, of the men and women associated with the former Shire of Creswick who served in World War I and who have been honoured by the planting of a tree in their name in the Avenue. Peter Rickard’s quest to uncover the history of the three Rickards represented in the Avenue became a much bigger project as his curiosity expanded.

The second (revised and updated) edition of Sentinels of Service was published in April 2022.

The book will be of interest to relatives of those in the Avenue, locals, and people interested in war history. It provides personal profiles of soldiers, engineers, nurses, drivers, blacksmiths, light horsemen, veterinarians, butchers and even an air mechanic. In their histories Peter reveals such facts as age, marital status, rank, occupation and religion. Additional details include incidents from wartime, the variation of names on public records, and photographs of relevant troopships, medals, war graves and memorials.

The first release of Peter Rickard’s book Sentinels of Service – Volunteers of the Kingston Avenue of Honour was so popular, it sold out quickly.

The second edition of Sentinels of Service has finally been released! Copies can be purchased at the Commercial @ Kingston, Creswick Newsagency or Creswick Post Office, or it is available to purchase online. The price of the book is $45. Add postage and handling of $15 if purchased online. To reserve your copy, contact Creswick Newsagency on (03) 5345 2557.

Buy Sentinels of Service – Volunteers of the Kingston Avenue of Honour 2nd Edition:

Book by Peter Rickard
$60 inc. postage & handling

KINGSTON REMEMBERS RESOURCE CENTRE TRAILER

Terry Hope and Julie Baulch worked together to edit this video for the launch of the Kingston Remembers Resource Centre. Many thanks for their time in recording and editing these stories, and many thanks to the participants for sharing their connections to the Avenue.

The participants are Pat O’Connor, Brian and Josie Reasons, Marjory Davidson and Frances Muller, Graham and Anne Brinsden, and the Reverend Canon Geoffrey Tisdall.

KINGSTON AVENUE OF HONOUR

A wonderful video on the story of the people in the Kingston Avenue of Honour, edited by Charlie, a local school student.

KINGSTON STATE SCHOOL ROLL OF HONOUR

Moving the Kingston State School Avenue of Honour Board to the Commercial @ Kingston. Many thanks to the team involved in safely moving the board to its new home.

REMEMBERING THE BATTLE OF BEERSHEBA

31 October 2017 marked 100 years since the famous mounted charge of the 4th Light Horse Brigade into Beersheba – the last great cavalry charge in history. Three of these soldiers are remembered in the Kingston Avenue of Honour – a 99-year-old living memorial commemorating the World War I service of men and women associated with the former Shire of Creswick. The Kingston Friends of the Avenue released this video commemorating the battle and highlighting the incredible resilience, self-sufficiency and bravery of the brigade, who kept themselves and their horses alive in extreme circumstances.