Of the many thousands of Australian horses that left our shores during the Great War to carry members of the various Light Horse regiments in their campaigns against the Turkish army, only one has had a statue raised in tribute to his bravery.
“Bill the Bastard” was so called for his habit of bucking each time he was saddled and attempted to be ridden, until he was handled by Lieutenant Michael Shanahan, DSO, a carpenter from Roma in western Queensland.
During the Battle of Romani, Bill, ridden by Shanahan was instrumental in rescuing four Tasmanian members of the 3rd Light Horse regiment, who had lost their mounts and were stranded in the field at the mercy of the Turkish soldiers.
Burdened by the five men, Bill galloped to safety across 1000 metres and was retired the next day in honour of his gallantry.
Bill had become a legend, a symbol of the courage and unbreakable will of the ANZAC mounted force.
- Roland Perry
The bronze sculpture, dedicated to the brave horse designed by Carl Valerius and sited in the commemorative garden, was officially unveiled on August 6, 2016, the centenary of the Battle of Romani: and is one of the features of the Light Horse Memorial in Murrumburah.
Historian, Professor Roland Perry, has written the biography of “Bill the Bastard”, and attended the unveiling as guest speaker.
During the commemorative ceremony, Professor Perry recounted how the horse had power, intelligence and unmatched courage.
“But as war horses go, he had one serious problem,” Professor Perry said.
“No one could ride him but one man.”
“Bill the Bastard” is the remarkable tale of a bond between a determined trooper and his stoic, but cantankerous mount.
Professor Perry said horse and man fought together, depending upon each other for their survival.
In the heat of battle, Bill’s heroic efforts and survival instincts saved the lives of Shanahan and four of his men.
“By September 1918, Bill the Bastard was known by the entire Light Horse force, who used his name not as an insult, but as a term of endearment,” Professor Perry said.
“Bill had become a legend, a symbol of the courage and unbreakable will of the ANZAC mounted force.”
The memorial garden is in the small country town, Murrumburrah, midway between Canberra and Wagga Wagga.
Known as the Light Horse Memorial it was the result of the timely discovery in 1996 of memorabilia detailing the formation of the 1st Australian Horse in 1897.
One of the driving forces behind the project and member of the Harden-Murrumburrah Historical Society, Lorraine Brown, remembers the time she and her late friend Sue Bradford “stumbled across the fact the 1st Australian Horse was recruited in Murrumburrah during August 1897”.
“Local landholder, Captain Kenneth Mackay from Wallendbeen had approached the NSW government with the intention of forming the best troop of horsemen in the country, which he believed came from the country districts of NSW,” Mrs Brown said.
“Looking through the documents we found, we recognised the significance of the event and Sue and I decided to do something about celebrating the centenary of the original recruitment.”
Mrs Brown said money was raised through grants, donations and events before enough was accumulated to begin working on the planned memorial.
“We approached local stonemason Carl Valerius who we had heard of, and he agreed to design and build the memorial,” she said.
Bronze sculptures of Corporal William Bradford of the First Australian Horse, the “Retreat at Romani” with horse, “Bill the Bastard” carrying five men, and a diorama of the charge against Beersheba were created by Carl Valerius, and are placed near a wall of remembrance where a number of commemorative plaques record the memory of servicemen and set in the garden near Murrimboola Creek.
The attack on Beersheba is recognised as the last great cavalry action and although it was the 4th and 12th Light Horse regiments that formed the main attacking force, one serviceman from the Harden district took part.
Lieutenant Albert David Reid, led B Squadron of the 4th Light Horse during the charge on Beersheba for which he was awarded the Military Cross and promoted to Major.
Upon his return home, he married Jessie, took up farming and registered for service in the Second World War in 1941.
Mrs Brown said the centenary of the original recruitment was celebrated in the gardens on August 30, 1997, and the site is now registered as an official Australian War Memorial.
