WHAT’S in a name?
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It’s a question worth pondering from time to time, particularly when you discover something intriguingly titled.
In Albury there is probably nothing more curiously badged than the popular recreational site Noreuil Park.
Unlike its neighbouring green spaces, Hovell Tree and Australia parks, which have self-explanatory monikers, Noreuil prompts some wonder.
Where did it come from and what is the story behind it?
Those questions are answered through a new plaque launched at the Murray River park on Saturday.
It tells the story of Albury’s 13th Battery which fought at the Battle of Noreuil on the Western Front in World War I.
The soldiers’ deeds left an imprint which ensured Albury’s then mayor Alf Waugh named a new memorial reserve Noreuil Park, in 1919, rather than the more predictable Anzac or AIF.
Very few places in Australia opted for such a geographic reference when commemorating the contribution of their sons in the Great War, although coincidentally another Murray River settlement did.
Robinvale has Caix Square, a grass hub which reflects the French commune over which Robin Cuttle, for whom the town was named, was shot down by the German enemy in 1918.
The fashion in which towns were keen to mark the endeavours of those who served showed how much they treasured their citizens.
Each year Anzac Day is testament to that continuing tradition, but in Albury Noreuil Park has become an everyday example of a ‘peace dividend’ from World War I.
For generations in Albury ‘going down to Noreuil’ has been a phrase that evokes outdoor pleasure, whether it relates to swimming in the river or enjoying the park’s shady trees on a hot day.
In recent years, a cafe has traded from the Mitta canoe club building to add another drawcard for locals and visitors.
The new plaque will be put near the cafe.
Standing alongside trees planted by returned diggers it will be a symbol for Noreuil Park’s raison d’etre.
The Rotary Club of Albury North and the Albury Council should be saluted for funding the plaque, a fine tribute to mark a link that is a century-old and bridges localities 16,732 kilometres apart.