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Reginald Rattey
Reginald Roy Rattey, VC (28 March 1918 – 10 January 1986) was an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry "in the face of the enemy" that can be awarded to members of the British or Commonwealth armed forces. He was one of 20 Australians to receive the award for their actions during the Second World War, doing so while serving with the 25th Battalion during the Bougainville Campaign in 1945. After the war, Rattey ran a farm near West Wyalong, New South Wales. He died in 1986 at the age of 67. Early life Born on 28 March 1918, at Barmedman, in New South Wales, Reg Rattey was one of seven children born to a Lutheran family living in rural New South Wales. His father, Johannes Albert Rattey, who was originally from Springton, South Australia had married his mother, Anna Elisabeth (née Damschke), at Pleasant Hills on 26 February 1914. Reginald was the couple's third child and when he was born, his father was working a share farm. Three ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barmedman
Barmedman is a rural village in the Bland Shire Council, Bland Shire in the New South Wales state of Australia, located approximately half-way between West Wyalong and Temora, New South Wales, Temora. Barmedman began as a service centre for gold-mining operations in the area. Nowadays the local district has an agricultural economic base, including wheat and canola cropping and sheep grazing. It is the home of two large wheat silos with a combined capacity of over a million bushels. At the , Barmedman had a population of 212. The township's name is derived from an Aboriginal word meaning 'long water'. History Barmedman pastoral run In December 1849 the 'Barmedman' pastoral run, leased by John Cartwright, was described as having an estimated area of 36,000 acres with a grazing capacity of about 1,000 cattle. Within its boundaries was a water-source called the Barmedman Waterhole. In August 1872 the Robertson brothers purchased 'Barmedman' station (Australian agriculture), station ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kikoira
Kikoira is a town in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. The town is in the Bland Shire local government area west of the state capital, Sydney. The Kikoira area produces wheat and wool and between 1939 and 1970 was home to one of Australia's largest tin deposits. Settlement The Kikoira area was set apart for soldier settlement after World War I. The railway came to Kikoira in 1929 with the completion of the Naradhan railway line. Homestead farms along the railway line were available for sale to "farmer's sons, wheatgrowers and landseekers generally" later that year. By 1931, the district had a rugby league team and a subsidised school had been established. The New South Wales government built a 60,000 bushel silo for bulk handing of wheat at Kikoira in 1933. By around 1933, the first houses were established in the township and a public telephone was installed. The Bank of New South Wales established a branch in the town in 1935 and a bush nursing hospita ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
KIng George IV & Austn VC Winners
King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a constitutional monarch if his power is restrained by fixed laws. Kings are hereditary monarchs when they inherit power by birthright and elective monarchs when chosen to ascend the throne. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the title may refer to tribal kingship. Germanic kingship is cognate with Indo-European traditions of tribal rulership (cf. Indic ''rājan'', Gothic ''reiks'', and Old Irish ''rí'', etc.). *In the context of classical antiquity, king may translate in Latin as '' rex'' and in Greek as ''archon'' or ''basileus''. *In classical European feudalism, the title of ''king'' as the ruler of a ''kingdom'' is understood to be the highest rank in the feudal order, potentially subject, at least nominally, only to an emperor (harking back to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buin, Papua New Guinea
Buin is a town on Bougainville Island, and the capital of the South Bougainville District, in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, in eastern Papua New Guinea. The island is in the northern Solomon Islands Archipelago of the Melanesia region, in the South Pacific Ocean. It is a government-established town in the jungle, now inland from the coast, where its sea-landing predecessor of the same name was located. The town is in an autonomous region of Papua New Guinea established in 2000, and was the former North Solomons Province (1976-2000).''Merriam Websters Geographical Dictionary, Third Edition'', p. 183. History Buin and Bougainville Island gained world attention with the Japanese Army's occupation in 1942, World War II, and the subsequent American counterattack in November 1943. After the war, the present-day town of Buin was established, inland to the north from its original location, which had been a minimal point of sea-landing on the coast. In 1943, Imperial Japan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Pearl Ridge
The Battle of Pearl Ridge (30–31 December 1944) was an engagement of the Second World War fought between Australian and Japanese forces on Bougainville Island. Part of the wider Bougainville Campaign, the battle took place in the central sector of the island, shortly after the Australians had taken over responsibility from the Americans. Believing that the ridge was held by less than a company of Japanese, on 30 December the Australian 25th Infantry Battalion launched a four-pronged attacked the ridge. The defending force, however, had been greatly reinforced by elements of the 38th Independent Mixed Brigade and was closer to a battalion in strength. After being held up on the right of their advance, the Australians dug in overnight and repulsed a strong Japanese counterattack before resuming the attack on 31 December. By late in the afternoon, the Japanese had been swept off the ridge. The Australians later established an observation post on the ridge, which had command ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bougainville Island
Bougainville Island (; Tok Pisin: ''Bogenvil'') is the main island of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, which is part of Papua New Guinea. Its land area is . The highest point is Mount Balbi, on the main island, at . The much smaller Buka Island, , lies to the north, across the wide Buka Passage, Buka Strait. Even though the strait is narrow, there is no bridge across it, but there is a regular ferry service between the key settlements on either side. The main airstrip in the north is in the town of Buka. Buka has an outcropping that is from New Ireland (island), New Ireland. Among the large islands of Papua New Guinea, New Ireland is the closest to Buka. Bougainville is the largest island in the Solomon Islands (archipelago), Solomon Islands archipelago. It was previously the main landmass in the North Solomon Islands, North Solomons, which were associated with the German Empire. Most of the islands in this archipelago (which are primarily concentrated in the southern ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Madang
Madang (old German name: ''Friedrich-Wilhelmshafen'') is the capital of Madang Province and is a town with a population of 27,420 (in 2005) on the north coast of Papua New Guinea. History Nicholai Miklukho-Maklai was probably the first European to visit the area. In 1871 he stayed at Astrolabe Bay south of present-day Madang for 15 months. He had a good relationship with the local communities before leaving, suffering from malaria. In April 1884 an expedition by the German New Guinea Company led by Otto Finsch and Eduard Dallmann arrived and named the landing point "Friedrich Wilhelmshafen"; however, they felt that the area was unsuitable for a settlement. A subsequent survey in 1888 mentioned good soil conditions that would make a coffee plantation possible. In the summer of 1891 a station was built and by September 1892 was the seat of the provincial administration; however, the Imperial Government Commissioner remained at Stephansort, some 23 kilometers away due to conc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
7th Brigade (Australia)
7th Brigade is a combined arms formation or brigade of the Australian Army. The brigade was first raised in 1912 as a Militia formation, although it was re-formed as part of the First Australian Imperial Force in early 1915 for service during World War I. It subsequently saw action at Gallipoli and on the Western Front during the war. Following the end of the war the brigade was disbanded in 1919 before being re-raised in 1921 as part of the Citizens Force (later known as the Militia). During World War II the brigade took part in the fighting against the Japanese in New Guinea and on Bougainville. Today, the 7th Brigade is part of 1st (Australian) Division and is based in Brisbane, Queensland and is composed mainly of units of the Regular Army. While the brigade has not deployed as a whole unit since World War II, component units have deployed on operations to East Timor, the Solomon Islands, Iraq and Afghanistan. As of 2024, the 7th Brigade is Australia's "Ready Brigade" an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Corporal
Corporal is a military rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The rank is usually the lowest ranking non-commissioned officer. In some militaries, the rank of corporal nominally corresponds to commanding a Section (military unit), section or squad of soldiers. The word is a contraction from the Italian language, medieval Italian phrase ( [of soldiers]). While most Indo-European languages use this contraction, West Iberian languages use . Types * Lance corporal * * Corporal first class, First corporal * Second corporal * Master corporal * Corporal major * Corporal of horse * Corporal of the field * Staff corporal By country Australia Corporal is the second lowest of the non-commissioned officer ranks in the Australian Army, falling between lance-corporal and sergeant. A corporal is usually appointed as a section commander, and is in charge of 7–14 soldiers of private rank. They are assisted by a second-in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New Guinea
New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Mainland Australia, Australia by the wide Torres Strait, though both landmasses lie on the same continental shelf, and were united during episodes of low sea level in the Pleistocene glaciations as the combined landmass of Sahul. Numerous smaller islands are located to the west and east. The island's name was given by Spanish explorer Yñigo Ortiz de Retez during his maritime expedition of 1545 due to the perceived resemblance of the indigenous peoples of the island to those in the Guinea (region), African region of Guinea. The eastern half of the island is the major land mass of the nation of Papua New Guinea. The western half, known as Western New Guinea, forms a part of Indonesia and is organized as the provinces of Pap ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
11th Division (Australia)
The 11th Division was an Australian Army unit formed during World War II by the renaming of Milne Force in December 1942. Predominately a Australian Army Reserve, Militia formation, the division's main role during the war was as a base command headquarters, although elements saw action in New Guinea against Japanese forces during the Finisterre Range campaign and in New Britain campaign, New Britain. It was disbanded in July 1946. History In July 1942, a headquarters was raised to command the units that had been sent to Milne Bay, to establish a series of airfields there after the Battle of the Coral Sea. The majority of the staff for this headquarters came from the 1st Division (Australia), 1st Division, and at the time of its establishment it was called "C Force" and became Milne Force in August 1942. Only a limited number of troops were assigned, with the first elements being two companies of Australian Army Reserve, Militia troops from the 55th Battalion (Australia), 55th Ba ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
