October 2017 has a special significance for Australians in general and the Armidale / Northern NSW region in particular. It marks the centenary of one of the most successful military campaigns of the first world war, but one that's barely recognised outside of this country or the State of Israel.
The general event in question was the campaign in Palestine which led to the removal of the Turks, who had been in occupation for almost exactly 400 years, and gave Britain the post-war mandate over the region. And the particular battle that stands out because it triggered Turkey's rapid loss of sovereignty was the charge of the largely Australian Light Horse brigade at Beersheba (Be'er Sheva for the Israelis) commanded by General Chauvel who was born on the NSW North Coast. Many of the Light Horse participants were from rural NSW and especially the Armidale region. To give Britain its due, the overall commander of the Middle East forces was General Allenby. These events probably accelerated the Israel's establishment in the late 1940s and so will attract large crowds to Beersheba on the 31st October when a re-enactment of the charge - sometimes billed as the last charge in military history - will take place.
So it was no great surprise when Armidale's New England Regional Art Museum (NERAM) announced that it was staging a commemorative display of photos, artwork and objects connected with the event. The contents were sourced mainly from the University of New England archives, local residents, Light Horse museums / collections and other locations. And I should add that local residents are thronging the display judging from the crowds we saw during our visit yesterday.
It was a great display as the following pictures attest.
The display had many narratives explaining how events came to pass.
Here's a portrait of Chauvel and the reconstruction of one of the horsemen.
There were maps and 'artistic' impressions of the charge. Interestingly, the top map shows Jaffa, which is now part of Tel Aviv, but fails to mention Tel Aviv itself, which apparently did not exist!
And here's an impression of the terrain over which the battle took place.
There were many photos taken during the preparations for the campaign - often taken in Egypt where the Light Horse assembled. Some were at the also famous, but eventually disastrous, earlier campaign at Gallipoli in Turkey itself.
Here is a photo of the ruined Turkish positions at Beersheba after their capitulation. Below that are two pictures of the surrounding, and rather desolate, countryside. The campaign had considerable logistical problems with supplying food, water and munitions in this rather unforgiving environment.
AS
The general event in question was the campaign in Palestine which led to the removal of the Turks, who had been in occupation for almost exactly 400 years, and gave Britain the post-war mandate over the region. And the particular battle that stands out because it triggered Turkey's rapid loss of sovereignty was the charge of the largely Australian Light Horse brigade at Beersheba (Be'er Sheva for the Israelis) commanded by General Chauvel who was born on the NSW North Coast. Many of the Light Horse participants were from rural NSW and especially the Armidale region. To give Britain its due, the overall commander of the Middle East forces was General Allenby. These events probably accelerated the Israel's establishment in the late 1940s and so will attract large crowds to Beersheba on the 31st October when a re-enactment of the charge - sometimes billed as the last charge in military history - will take place.
So it was no great surprise when Armidale's New England Regional Art Museum (NERAM) announced that it was staging a commemorative display of photos, artwork and objects connected with the event. The contents were sourced mainly from the University of New England archives, local residents, Light Horse museums / collections and other locations. And I should add that local residents are thronging the display judging from the crowds we saw during our visit yesterday.
It was a great display as the following pictures attest.
The display had many narratives explaining how events came to pass.
Here's a portrait of Chauvel and the reconstruction of one of the horsemen.
There were maps and 'artistic' impressions of the charge. Interestingly, the top map shows Jaffa, which is now part of Tel Aviv, but fails to mention Tel Aviv itself, which apparently did not exist!
And here's an impression of the terrain over which the battle took place.
There were many photos taken during the preparations for the campaign - often taken in Egypt where the Light Horse assembled. Some were at the also famous, but eventually disastrous, earlier campaign at Gallipoli in Turkey itself.
Here is a photo of the ruined Turkish positions at Beersheba after their capitulation. Below that are two pictures of the surrounding, and rather desolate, countryside. The campaign had considerable logistical problems with supplying food, water and munitions in this rather unforgiving environment.
AS
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