Trails tell Great War Stories

Image: Dandenong residents during Anzac Day 2014. Picture: Derrick den Hollander

Dandenong City Council has combined peoples’ love for bushwalking with a novel way to share the area’s rich links to the Great War.

The Council received a $37,300 grant from the 100 Years of Anzac local grants program to identify and map a series of walking trails in the Greater Dandenong area. The trails will include sites that explore significant Great War stories.

One such story is that of Robert and Wallace Heard, brothers from Dandenong, who joined the Australian Imperial Force and shipped off with their battalions to fight in Belgium. Robert was killed in action only 24 hours after his brother Wallace.

Corporal Robert Heard and another 7th Battalion soldier, Pte Charence Godfrey Wallis served on the Western Front with the 59th and the 57th Battalions. PTE Heard was killed in action on 21 March 1918 near Messines, Belgium. PTE Heard is buried in the La Plus Douve Farm Cemetery, Belgium.

Many local governments are taking opportunities during the four year long Anzac Centenary to reinvigorate their connections to the Great War.

Discover our beautiful Great War Collections and commemorate your way.