Premium Content
Subscriber only
At 104 years of age, William ‘Bill’ Bruce is flying across Queensland today so he can make the Anzac Day services in a small outback town.
The veteran has only ever missed one service in Nebo, about 90km from Mackay, when COVID-19 kept him in Caboolture last year.
Mr Bruce is the last of the Nebo “boys” left who signed up to fight in World War II and he could very well be the oldest surviving veteran in the wider Mackay Whitsunday Isaac region.
He enlisted in 1942 to protect the mainland from the Japanese; but then he became a member of the Australian Electrical Mechanical Engineers in the 2/137th Australian Brigade Workshop and was deployed to New Guinea.
The corner-lot houses curved design suits the pie-shaped property 40 metres along the street tapers to 25 at the back. While only a quarter acre, the lot seems larger because David scoops up a 12 foot strip of municipal property by planting right to the curb. DARREN STONE, TIMES COLONIST
David and Daunine Burbank say the first couple of years working on their property were challenging, but now they can sit back most days and enjoy. DARREN STONE, TIMES COLONIST
A Portugal laurel has been trained and trimmed into a horizontal sculpture. David planted a tiny sapling in 2006. It was about a quarter-inch in diameter and it took six seasons to get the branches all the way to the top. I clipped off all but two branches at each level for horizontals. He has a stock of orchard ladders of different heights and finds pruning meditative and fun. He created the arched doorway in the hedge, right, by growing plants up both sides, then guiding pieces across the top by tying them to
104yo WWII veteran returns home for Anzac Day cqnews.com.au - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from cqnews.com.au Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The sweet melodies of
Waltzing Matilda and
In Flanders Fields will ring through the Waitaki Boys’ High School Hall of Memories on Sunday.
The Hall of Memories will be open to the public, as the annual Anzac Day concert makes a welcome return. The concert was cancelled last year as a result of the Covid-19 lockdown.
Singers and musicians from Oamaru, Dunedin, Christchurch and Wellington will perform, and Waitaki Boys’ pupil Jonty Nelson will open proceedings with the bagpipes.
Among those featuring are sopranos Rebecca Ryan and Calla Knudson-Hollebon, baritone Jason Henderson, and the Bernard Sisters.
Concert organiser Allan Portis said people could expect to hear “old favourites”.
More than 100 years of precious footy memories
We’re sorry, this service is currently unavailable. Please try again later.
Dismiss
April 24, 2021 12.02am
Normal text size
Credit:Illustration: Andrew Dyson
To submit a letter to The Age, email letters@theage.com.au. Please include your home address and telephone number.
MELBOURNE
More than 100 years of precious footy memories
Well done the National Trust for highlighting the significance of the Jack Dyer Stand in the face of its demolition by Richmond Football Club as part of Punt Road Oval’s re-development (Sport, 21/4). The stand is over 100years old and has witnessed much of football history, as well as being the former home of the Richmond Cricket Club. Spectators have watched their heroes play from here. Memories of premierships are well and truly etched in its fabric.