ANZAC Day is not far away so your mind may be turning to the special memorial at Splendour Rock that remembers 13 bushwalkers (from bushwalking clubs of Bushwalking NSW) who did not return from World War II. This memorial in the Megalong Valley of the Blue Mountains must be Australia’s most remote war memorial.
You may or may not be aware of some other memorial plaques at this site. A new book by Keith Maxwell and Michael Keats OAM should be on your bookshelf. It is the definitive work that is bound to become a valuable reference on Splendour Rock with so much information. It answers so many questions. For example,
# Who found Splendour Rock plus when was the plaque installed and by whom?
# When was the memorial put on the official NSW register of war memorials and Australian War Memorial?
# Who are the bushwalkers remembered and what did they look like plus who were the bushwalkers who served and returned from WWII?
# How did the bushwalkers at home support their friends in uniform?
# How have these bushwalkers been remembered at ANZAC Day Dawn Services starting in 1948?
# What are the other memorial plaques including on the Central Coast and in a North Sydney church? What is their story?
# How have fallen NZ (of ANZAC – New Zealand) trampers been remembered?
# What is the bushwalking club founded by a walk to Splendour Rock?
With 360 glossy pages it is a great read packed full of so much information plus pictures and early maps. A must for every bushwalker’s bookshelf.
Splendour Rock – A Bushwalkers War Memorial by Keith Maxwell and Michael Keats OAM is available at bookshops where you find other great bushwalking books or from the website – bushexplorers.com.au (postage free at $66)
Keith Maxwell.
The Splendour Rock Choir from the Illawarra Grammar School.
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