Veterans Centre Progresses?

Located in Scheyville National Park is Hawkesbury’s Veterans Centre, Families and Community Hub. This site was home to the Scheyville Officer Training Unit which was established in 1965 to train members of the Australian Defence Force for the Vietnam War. Following the Unit’s closure in 1974, the venue has remained largely unoccupied and unmaintained.

Taskforce Veteran, also known as Hunter Anzac Memorial Limited (HAML), has been extremely dedicated in its ambition to delivering this project and are working towards a future where every Australian Defence Force veteran feels empowered, understood and seamlessly connected to the community when visiting the centre. They have a vision to create a thriving community hub that educates the public about the sacrifices of veterans, while celebrating their role in shaping our nation into what it is today.

Of the almost 1,900 officer cadets who were trained at this facility, only around 760 remain. The site is a legacy and a reminder of our Defence history and it’s imperative that we honour and respect the history of this facility and reactivate it for the betterment of veterans and their families.

Without the legacy of historic sites like this, we could lose the memory and reminder of the days that shaped our great nation. Is it because we don’t treasure Australian culture that we are seeing an increase in desecration of war memorials?

At what point will the NSW Labor Government acknowledge the benefits of helping Taskforce Veteran get this project completed. This centre has secured $9 million in Federal funding and donations. The only support HAML is asking for from the Minns Labor Government is cooperation, which at times has been lacking.

Whilst some veterans are forgotten upon finishing their duties, I would like to once again, recognise some of Hawkesbury’s very own veterans, who make up part of our rich history and give us hope, thanks to their efforts in Defence.

A big happy birthday to Cunningham ‘Jock’ Cassels, the last surviving Spitfire Pilot in Australia, who has just celebrated his 101st birthday, and my sincerest condolences to the loved ones of veteran Thomas Pritchard, who recently passed away at the age of 102 and has an eternal legacy as the last ‘Rat of Tobruk’.