Towong Shire Council is being asked to erect a permanent monument at Tallangatta to honour one of its unsung ‘soldiers’.
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The Upper Murray Horseman’s Association (UMHA) is calling for a lasting tribute to commemorate the district’s lighthorses including Sandy, the only horse from Australia to return from World War I.
Sandy was donated to the war effort by Francis ‘Bonner’ O’Donnell, of Old Tallangatta, and his incredible return home is a story worth preserving, says UMHA president Michael Palmer.
Mr Palmer will meet with councillors on September 19 to discuss the possibility of erecting a life-size cut-out of Sandy and his strapper at Tallangatta’s War Memorial.
“It’s early days for discussions but we would love to see Sandy included as part of the town’s Anzac ceremony,” he said.
“If it can’t be there, perhaps a monument might be appropriate at the showgrounds given the horse connection and history there.”
Tallangatta’s O’Donnell brothers are great uncles to two of UMHA’s current members, Bruce and “Bluey” Campbell.
Mr Palmer said there was a unique opportunity for Tallangatta to capitalise on its connection to Sandy given the resurgence of interest in the nation’s Anzac history.
The tale of “the ordinary horse” that came back from the war was unearthed in The Border Mail’s souvenir liftout to commemorate the Anzac Centenary in 2015.
There must have been something special about the non-descript bay who became the favoured steed of Major General Sir William Throsby Bridges.
Tallangatta’s Jean Merbach descibed how her great uncle Bonner donated the horse in a geture of patriotism.
Word has it the gift was in response to a decree issued by the Catholic Church’s Bishop Mannix that no Catholic was to join the army to fight for King George, which meant Bonner wasn’t able to enlist.
“In lieu of that, he gave his horse to the light brigade,” Mrs Merbach said.
Sandy accompanied Major General Bridges to Gallipoli but it was soon decided there was neither the need nor the room to land horses on that beach so they were returned to Alexandria.
Sandy’s master was injured at Gallipoli and died at sea on May 18, 1915 but his dying wish was for the 10-year-old bay gelding to be returned to Australia.
In May, 1917 the horse sailed home on the freighter, the SS Booral.
Ten million fighting men died in WWI but what is less known is that at least eight million horses died too.
Of the 136,000 horses Australia sent to war, only Sandy came home.
