Logan Village Museum remembers

Logan Village Museum is remembering those from the Logan district who served in the First World War by producing a commemorative booklet.

Curator Coralyn Cowin has been gathering information in regard to servicemen and women who served in the First World War.

Each person has been researched to provide a brief biographical entry, including where they served and their connection with the Logan Community. To date she has researched and uncovered more than 150 individuals.

Logan Village Hotel c1912. Image: SLQ

The area covered by this research was Tambourine to Jimboomba and Waterford. This encompasses Logan Reserve, Stockleigh, Chambers Flat, Buccan and Logan Village.

Blocks of land were first sold in the area in September 1863. Original settler families included Watson, Hawkins, Norris, Matthias, Pownall, Campbell, Ambrose, Mellor and Drynan. They were soon followed by Scortechini, Webber, Strachan and many more.

Later entries include the Delpratt brothers, one of whom is Maurice Delpratt featured in the State Library of Queensland's commemorative exhibition 'Distant Lines : Queensland voices of the First World War'. Maurice was captured by Turkish forces whilst serving in Gallipoli in 1915.

 Prisoners at the camp in Hadji-Kiri. Maurice George Delpratt is seated, third from left.

Maurice spent most of the time in a camp called Hadji-Kiri in the Taurus Mountains of central Turkey. The prisoners worked on the tunnels for the railway being built by the Germans from Berlin to Baghdad. Maurice was eventually released in December 1918 and repatriated to Australia.

A brief look at the entry for George Hamilton Kirk, shows that he had been assigned to the 23rd Reinforcements for the 9th Infantry Battalion. His service record reveals that he died on board HMAT Kyarra of pneumonia, just three months after enlisting, he never had the opportunity to serve for King and  Country.

He is commemorated at Hollybrook Memorial, Southampton, England.

All of the entries in the Logan Village Museum booklet are in alphabetical order, and will be amended and updated as further information becomes available. Booklets can be obtained from the Museum, for you to read and appreciate the impact war had on so many families in the area.

Many thanks should go to Coryalyn and her group of enthusiastic volunteers for putting so much effort into this project, and for sharing it with us. More volunteers are always welcome, contact the Museum or call in next time you are town for further details.

Further Information:

• Logan Village Community Centre Blog
• Museum & Local History Centre, River Street,  Logan
• Opening hours: 7 days 9.00 to 12.00
• Phone - 0418 738 468
• Booklets are available for $5
• loganvillagecommunitycentre@yahoo.com.au

Marg Powell
QANZAC 100 Content Technician
State Library of Queensland