Trumpeter/ Private Alfred George Rooney - 9th Light Horse Regiment of the AIF

On the 11th of February 1915, the HMAT Karroo set off from Port Melbourne with the troops of the 3rd Light Horse Brigade. Along with the other troops from the 9th Light Horse Regiment, Alfred George Rooney set off for Egypt. They would be aboard the Karoo until the 14th of March.

The 9th was made up of predominantly of South Australian men and a small amount of Victorians. They would consist of 25 officers; 497 other ranks that would serve in 3 squadrons, each having 6 troops. Each troop was then divided into 8 sections of four men each. They would be mounted infantry atop the exclusive Australian Waler Horse and carrying rifles.

Trumpeter/ Private Alfred George Rooney was born in Ballarat East in 1895 to James and Mary Ann Lydia Rooney. He was 1 of 5 children and a labourer by trade. He was also 19 when he enlisted into the Australian Imperial Force on the 15th of October 1914. 

During the duration of the war, the 9th Light Horse Regiment would be awarded 15 battle honours. Follow us as we follow their story.

9th Light Horsemen Receiving the Regimental Standard, Adelaide, 15 November 1914.

[From: The Sydney Mail, 16 December 1914, p. 31.]

[Source: Australian Military History of the 20th Century Website;

http://alh-research.tripod.com/Light_Horse/index.blog/1862192/9th-australian-light-horse-regiment-aif-history/

The troopship HMAT Karroo under tow from the tug Nyora in Melbourne on September 18, 1916. Photographed by Josiah Barnes.

[Source: the Australian Broadcasting Company Website;

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-08-27/hmat-karroo-in-melbourne-1916/5687118]

Sources for this post: 

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9th_Light_Horse_Regiment_%28Australia%29

ABC website: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-08-27/hmat-karroo-in-melbourne-1916/5687118

National Archives of Australia: http://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/NameSearch/Interface/ItemDetail.aspx?Barcode=8036651

Australian Military History of the 20th Century website: http://alh-research.tripod.com/Light_Horse/index.blog/1862192/9th-australian-light-horse-regiment-aif-history/

Ballarat Showgrounds

Its Show Weekend in Ballarat: the Ballarat Agricultural and Pastoral Society has been part of Ballarat life for over 150 years now.

It seems like an appropriate time to bring out these photographs of the Ballarat Showgrounds during the Great War, when they were the site of an AIF training camp...

Photographs from the Ballarat Courier Christmas special, December 14, 1915

But dont strain your eyes to try and recognise any features of today's showgrounds!  These are photographs of the showground situated off Wendouree Parade, on the North East corner of the Lake shore.

Detail of 1936 survey map showing new showgrounds site on Creswick Road, and old site near Lake Wendouree

This 1936 map shows both the showgrounds sites.  The new site in Creswick Road was officially opened in 1933.  The old site was at first thought to be a great place to relocate the Ballarat Base Hospital, but funding was not available for this.  The site was cleared during 1933 and the land sub-divided into 61 residential allotments.  Extraordinary, but there was not a great deal of interest in the land - it was the mid-1940s before all the blocks were sold.

Just as a footnote, the old showgrounds were also used during the Spanish Influenza pandemic: people with influenza could be isolated and treated there. But the conditions were very spartan!

This blog has even more relevance for today's Courier page 1 headline is "Vic Park on radar: key site identified for new showgrounds" (November 8, 2014)

If you'd like to read more about the Agricultural and Pastoral Society, or if you live in the Brawn Avenue area, you should look at Golden Showtime, the history of the Society.  There are more  photographs there, and on page 65 an interesting map of the subdivision, which outlines the old oval - maybe your house is on it!

C.E.W. Bean's "Official History of Australia in the War of 1914-1918"

In the Ballarat Library we have a collection of Charles Edwin Woodrow Bean’s (C.E.W. Bean) Official History of Australia in the War of 1914- 1918. This collection is comprised of 12 volumes with Bean having written Volumes 1 – 6 himself, as he was a journalist, war correspondent and historian. He was able to write these as a correspondent for the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) at Gallipoli, France and Belgium.

Bean was appointed as the official war correspondent with the AIF Troops in September of 1914. He was given the rank of Captain in the AIF and was able to follow the Australian infantry campaigns for the war. Bean landed with other troops at Anzac Cove at 10am on 25 April 1915 and remained on the peninsula for most of the campaign. When the AIF moved to Europe, Bean followed and would survive the war.

Bean’s volumes were published between 1920 and 1942 and can be found in the Ballarat Library Non-Fiction Area to be loaned out. The Australian War Memorial website also has digital copies that can be downloaded as PDF versions.

https://www.awm.gov.au/histories/first_world_war/

Source Material:   Australian War Memorial <https://www.awm.gov.au/histories/first_world_war/>
                                    Wikipedia <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Bean>


By coincidence, Radio National's Saturday Extra program this morning featured Ross Coulthart, investigative reporter with Channel 7, discussing Charles Bean and his legacy.  This link will lead you to the episode page, where you will find links to listen to or download the segment.