Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

CENTRAL RECRUITING
CAMPAIGN.Fix this text
OPENING MEETING.
ENTHUSIASTIC GATHERING AT
. MOUNT MORGAN.
The special train of the Recruiting Committee
arrived at Mount Morgan at six o'clock on
Monday. There was an enormous crowd in the precinct
of the station and on the platform were the Mayor
(Alderman L Halberstater), aldermen, and a large
and representative gathering
of townspeople. The train consisted of
engine 537 and two carriages. The engine
and carriages were beautifully decorated,
the work, it might be added, being done in
Rockhampton. On the front part and on
each side of the engine, the Australian
coat of arms is displayed. There was a
great show of bunting all round and in
front of the boiler, with the Defence Department's
framed notices calling for recruits
and setting forth the conditions of service,
and on the side of the tender were
pictorial signs including "Men! Australia wants
you" "Some Queensland boys are making
history! What are you doing!" "Halt! Who goes
there? If you are a friend, enlist" : "Remember the
Dardanelles 25th April 1915! What are you doing? "
"Come on! don't stand looking at this! Come and help"
The whole was surmounted with the inscription "For
King and Country. " The carriages were
adorned with the British and Australian coats of
arms and the Union Jack. The party consisted of
Private H. A. Patterson (Rockhampton) of the Ninth
Battalion, and Driver E. A. Kilpatrick of the Second
Light Horse Field Ambulance who have been
invalided home, the Rev. R Dunstan, Messrs
J. Forsyth, M. J. Kirwan, H. L. Hartley and E. B.
Swayne, M.M.L.A., Captain Cruickshank (Brigade
Major of the First Brigade Area), Dr F. G. Thompson
(Medical Officer of the Central district
recruiting area), and Sergeant-Majors
Warrener and Armstrong. The Mayor gave the party a
hearty welcome and expressed the hope that its
efforts would be crowned with success. After
introductions, the party drove to hotels.





It was not known that in the party there would be
any invalided soldiers, and, owing to the bad light at
the station, Private Patterson and Driver
Kilpatrick unfortunately passed without the crowd
noticing that they were wearing the uniform
of the expeditionary forces.
There was a splendid gathering in the School of
Arts at night. In fact, many were unable to gain
admission. The meeting was most sympathetic,
and there was frequent cheering. In the early
part, an individual in the rear of the hall
opened his mouth to make an interjection,
and he was unceremoniously bundled out amid loud
applause. The Deputy Mayor, Alderman W. T. Murphy
presided.
After, the National Anthem had been sung and the
Chairman had made a few introductory
remarks.




Mr Forsyth, who was received with applause,
said that, before saying a few words in
connection with the great war, he wished
to compliment Mount Morgan on the magnificent
reception they had accorded them. The
audience was worthy of Brisbane and he doubted if
they could get a bigger one there, or one which had
the feelings of this great war more at heart.
(Applause.) They had had recruiting campaigns all
over Australia. Some of them had been
particularly successful, and he hoped they would
be able to say the same regarding the
Queensland movement. They could not get away
from the fact that Great Britian, her Allies and
Australia were in the fight for good or evil, and they
had to see it through. (Applause.) They were fighting
the most perfect military machine the world
had ever known - one brought about by forty
years of organisation. The German people -
every man, woman, and child - had only one
object in view, and that was victory, and Great
Britain and her Allies had followed suit. The
British were a peaceable nation, and they had been
caught unprepared; but now every man who was
fit was called upon to go and help his friends to
assist in securing victory. The world had been
stirred, more particularly Australia, by the
magnificent and glorious stand of their grand
Australian boys at the Dardanelles. (Cheers and
prolonged applause.) If one thing had stirred up
the British nation, it was that these men without
much training, suddenly brought before
disciplined armies, had proved themselves equal
to the best. (Applause) and what those boys had
done, those who were going now would do. (Hear,
hear.) There had been no question of their
officers having to stir up the men with the
bayonet or present a revolver at their heads to
make them go on. The trouble was that when
they landed, ther had been too much eagerness to go
and that was why there had been such a high
casualty list. But was it not a magnificent effort?
(Applause.) The children of Germany and
Austria had been brought up almost from birth
with the military feeling inculcated in them. The
White Book showed that Great Britain up till the
last minute tried to stop the war; but the
Germans were determined to go on. They had the
results of the last thirteen months before them.







They were all now called upon as they had never
been before, to do their best, or the British nation,
and with it, Australia, would be wiped out. The
battles to be fought on the other side would decide
Australia's fate. That was why they had come
there to ask every man to help in this great war.



The more men, artillery, and munitions they
could send to the front, the more would they
hasten victory. The men must be up and doing now,
and not wait until next week or next month. It
was the young men they called on, and the
unmarried men first, and he hoped that a big
number would come forward that night. Mount


Morgan had been generous in men and
imoney ; but they wanted her to be still
more generous. They had on the.platform
two men who had been wounded at the
Dardanelles and had come back —(Loud
applause) — and these men would tell
them that they wanted men and more
men. This was not' a capitalists' or
politicians' war. It was a war for freedom
and liberty and honour. (Loud applause.)
Great Britain, at whatever cost - and it had
been already great —
said that she would stick to her obligations
contained in the ''scrap of paper"
and would see it through. (Load applause.)
They had to win ; but it would
be longer if they did not get at the front what men
and munitions were wanted.
They wanted still more men. They were
all called upon to make sacrifices and to
stand united to see it through, and
if necessary, Anstralia must send her last
man and spend her last shilling. (Applause.)
When they thought of the great
savagery perpetratcd upon the poor
people of Belgium— devilry they all said
— they must see it through. God said
"Vengeance is mine;" but they had to
instil into the minds of everyone what a
terrible war it was, what great sacrifices
were required, and everyone had to say
"I will do my utmost" They had a
doctor and officer with them, and they
wanted every young man of Mount Morgan
to come forward and enlist. (Loud applause)
The women of Australia were
deserving of magnificent credit for the
work they had done, and their efforts
should enthuse them. (Loud applause.)
The Chairman said that he had to refer
to the death of their worthy townsman,
Dr. S. J. Richards. All he conld say
would not adequately express their feclings
regarding the loss to the. town or what
their feelings were towards him. Their
Mayor had not taken the chair that evening
because, previous to to the meeting, he
had received the distressing news that
his nephew had died as a result of wounds at
the Dardanelles. In honour of them,
and of the many brave men who had
come from Mount Morgan and had fallen
in the defence of their country,he would
ask them all to stand and show their
sympathy.
This having been done, Miss H. Miller,
played her composition "H.M.A.S. Sydney" and
"Soldiers of the King" She was loudly
applauded.
During this time a number of recruits
came forward. . They were heartily
cheered.
The Rev. R. Dunstan that he was
very pleased to be there to address such a
magnificent meeting. He was with them
heart and soul in the movement. It was very
encouraging to the party to see such a fine
gathering. It was inspiring to see the number of
young men who had come forward that
evening. (Applause.) The fact that so many
of their brave men had already fallen, should
not have the effect on the men who should
enlist, of causing them to think that, if they went
they too, might fall. It was their place to say "I will
go forward and fill the breach." (Loud applause)
He was proud, as a minister of the Methodist Church,
to stand on the platform advocating recruiting.
One of his sons was at the front, and he



rejoiced at the fact - (hear, hear) - because he
felt, and knew, that it was a righteous war in which
they were engaged. It was because of that too,
that he urged upon the young men that it
was their duty to go to the war. At the front
there were thousands of men who had just
as great a horror of war as they had; but they
had enlisted for this reason - knowing that
it was in defence of their hearths and homes, of all
that they held dear, and of the great principles
of honour and liberty for which the British Empire
stood. (Applause.) After referring to the
atrocities committed by the Germans in Belgium,
Mr Dunstan said that the German people had not since
repented, but, on the contrary, in their Hymn of
Hate, said that when they got to Great Britian they
would do the same and worse. If they got
to Great Britain, Australia would follow,
and that was why they were urging the
young men to go to the front and say to the
invader "Thus far shal"t them come and no
further." (Hear, hear.) The British and the Allied
Armies had done magnificent work so far, and
they had every reason to be encouraged - (hear, hear)
as they must win in his opinion, for he had great faith
in the men at the head of affairs. They
believed in Lord Kitchener - (applause) - a man of
steel, who was at his work day and night,and
sticking to his work with a death-like
tenacity. They believed in their able leader in
France, Sir John French - (applause) - and in
the man who was keeping back the German navy,




Admiral Jellicoe - (cheers and applause) -
and in the officers and the men in the
ranks — (applause); but, to complete their
work, they must be supplied with all the
men who were required, and with all the
ammunition that was necessary. Then it
wold be shown that, man for man, they
were more than the equal of the Germans.
(Loud applause). They were in a
righteous cause, and God was with them.
He appealed to the young men to come
forward. If the young men wanted to be
on right terms with their best girls, they
should enlist. (Laughter and applause). When
they came back after having done their duty to
their country, their best girls would give them a
kiss, and that would be better than spooning
round now while their mates were fighting
for them and doing their work in the
trenches. (Loud applause).
Mr Kirwan said that he joined with the
previous speakers in congratulating the
people of Mount Morgan, not only on their
splendid contribution of the prime of
their manhood and on their money con-
tributions, but also on that magnificent
meeting which proved to the ordinary
onlooker that the people of the district were
prepared to see this titanic struggle to
the end, and, only when it had been
settled in the right way, would they be
satisfied. (Loud applause). They had all
been movcd by the mention of the names
of the Mount Morgan men who had fallen.
Australia had contributed some of the
finest of her manhood, and they would
secure a page in history and their deeds would
be immortalised in poetry and song
when they and generations not yet formed
were at rest in God's acre. On the fatal morn
of the 25th of April the Australians had shown to the
world that theywere equal to more than sport.
Their heroic achievements on the Gallipoli Peninsula
would never be wiped out. They had heard in

the past that the Australian youth was
effeminate, that he was degenerating, and
that he had only time for sport. He
trusted that after the history the Australians
had made at the Dardanelles, those who had
made those remarks would
regret them. Whatever GreatBritian had
to lose in this great struggle, Australia
had more to lose. He believed that eventually
Britain would be successful in the
struggle and he firmly believed that, no matter
how long it lasted, because they had
righteousness on their side, and because
the great principles of Christianity
could not be trampled upon with impunity
by a modern Hun. (Applause). He
wished to particularly point out to young
Queenslanders that they enjoyed more
liberty than was accorded the inhabitants

of a great many other countries, if not all
tbe other countries in tlie habitable globe
and they were liberties that were worth
fighting for. In older countries for centuries
the people had fought for some of
the principles of freedom and libertv that
they in Australia possessed, and
some cf them, he nught tell them
were still far from their aims.
Therefore it was up to every man who
was in the position to do so to go to the
front to assist in maintaining those great
and glorious institutions. Mr. Forsyth
had spoken on the preparedness of Germany
for war, and in a book he had just
read it showed that they - or at any rate
the Labour party— had been mistaken
when they believed that the Socialist
party in Germany was far too strong for
Prussianmilitarism to have full sway. In
1914 the Socialists, at a conference held
in tbe capital of Belgium, passed resolutions
condemming Prussian militarism,
the abolition of the monarchy, and other
such measures, and yet they found, in the very
month of the war, the men who
assisted in passing such resolutions concerned
in some of the most awful atrocities.
That was the sort of organisation
they had in Germany — that men who had
expressed such sentiments were, at an
order, quite prepared to do the work of brutes.
The party extended their sympathy to
the sorrowing relatives in this district
who had lost a dear one. In this
great war women were playing a great
and noble, but silent, part. ' They gave
their sons, husbands, or brothers, and in
silence they bore the vain of parting and the
suspense. They had done nobly and
had been quite prepared to make this
great sacrifice so that they might be
spared a still greater one if the cause
failed. (Loud applause.)
Miss Hardv then gave a patriotic recitation.

Mr Swayne said that he felt proud to
say a few words in aid of such a cause
and doubly proud to have the opportunity
of congratulating the industrial workers of
Mount Morgan upon having set such
a fine example to the rest of the industrial
world by deciding not to charge over-time
rates for extra hours worked in turning out
shells when it was taken in hand.
The young men had a duty to perform, and
the party was there to call on them to come
forward and do it. (Applause)
They must have men and more men and they must
win. That was
the reason he appealed to the young men
to come along and join their mates who had
come on to the platform that night. (Applause.)
The Chairman said that he would now call on
Private Hurtle Patterson, who was a former
resident of Mount Morgan, and who, while doing his
duty at the Dardanelles, had lost the sight of one
eye. Private Patterson, who was received with loud
and prolonged cheers, made a forceful and telling
speech. He said:- Mr. Chairman, fellow Australians -
I thank you for the way in which you have received
me to-night. I do not pose as a hero. My injuries are
slight; but they are such as to incapacitate me from
going into the firing line again in the present
campaign. I am proud of having been a Mount
Morganite for the number you have sent to the
firing line, many of them being men who have shed
the best blood in their veins to keep flying the flag
which has given us our freedom, and which is to
keep our freedom, and which will eventually fly
over the world's freedom - that is the grand British
flag. (Applause). To you young chaps I want to say
that I was with your friend Lowry Brisbin who fell
on the battlefield of Gallipoli. There are others too. I
am sorry for those who are left behind to mourn,
but do not weep. Men have gone to their death on
the football field. Do not grieve for those who have
died in the only game that is wanted today. But it is
not a game. It is war in its reality as I saw it in the
grey dawn on the memorable 25th of April of this
year, when we attempted to effect a landing. We not
only attempted, but effected it. (Loud applause). Out
of the original Ninth Battalion that left Queensland
there are only 100 left, which means that 900
of my comrades and many of your friends now lie
on the shores of Gallipoli Peninsula while striving
for the honour of your country, for the prestige of
the British nation, in their love for the liberty
which, this country affords, and which they wish to
retain, and the love they bear their mothers, wives
and sisters. (Applause). We mixed with the British
soldiers who had been in Flanders. While at Lemnos,
while concentrating, I met Frenchmen and
Englishmen who told me tales of such horror such as
I never care to repeat , but which I can never forget.
You young chaps are called on to save your country
from this and to add to the great deeds written in
some of the best blood on that barren wall and
almost unscapable cliff at Gallipoli. If you young
men could only realize it, you would be ashamed to
walk in civilian clothes. The only fashion for men in
1915 is ashamed to walk about in civilian clothes.
The only fashion for men in 1915 is Khaki. (Loud
applause). I know that the men of Mount Morgan
are not going to be behind in filling up the gaps
that have been made. (Applause). I promised my
wounded comrades who have since been well
enough to go back to the

On page 46
1 . da-. _ . L*.*. -i -
those old rooks. We have cut the name
dc- i »'??* I'll ? t ttll ttH' IUI-Mliib Up
against treat odds. We have lost nearly
13,000 of our number. We must win
.' thji..^.'. . We can't go back. Come over
and help us ! Drop your sports. Let those who
can't come look after the .........
Kiss your sweetheart good-bye.........
We arc your old pals, Jack, Pat, and
Sandy.'' (Loud applause). I have tried
very hard for the privilege of returning to
the trenches : but I have not yet been
successful. If on another try I succeed, I
do not want to have to go back and tell
the men that I asked them in Mount Morgan
to come and they would not. I know
I will not have to tell them that. I shall be
very glad to shake all you chaps by the
hands who want to enlist, and I can tell you that the men
at the Dardanelles will be
heartily thankful to see you. (Loud
applause). A voice: "What is the age limit?" " Come
and let us have a look at you. You can have a
milita...... another one"
(Laughter and applause).
All present then joined in singing "It's a long
way to Tipperary."
The Mayor said that he would move a
hearty vote of thanks to the Chairman
'and to the various speakers for their very
able addresses. He had just returned
from Brisbane and had visited the camp on
several occasions. He saw many of their friends, who
spoke in glowing terms of
their treatment there and asked him to take back a
message that they wanted all who could to come along
and help them. (Applause.)
Hearty cheers were given for "the boys at the
Dardanelles" and for those who had agreed
to enlist.
Mr Forsyth returned thanks on behalf
of the recruiting party.
The Chairman, in returning thanks, said
that Mount Morgan workmen had turned out the first
shell made in Australia.
The meeting terminated with the singing of the
National Anthem and loud cheering.
Twenty -five men came forward and
offered themselves as volunteers, while
others announced their intention of
presenting themselves in the course of a few
days. Fifteen, recruits passed the test,
namely:-
Walter Grant, twenty-one years, Central
and Dee streets
Hugh McMaster, forty-two years, Central
and Dee streets
Walter Hick, forty-three years,
Moonmera
Joseph Kelly, twenty -five years, Imperial
Hotel
John McDonald Bryant, twenty-five years,
Koongal
John Vincent Parsons, twenty-four years,
Crown street
William Sleep, twenty-three years, Pattison
street
William Conroy, twenty-five years, East
street
George Colton Turner, twenty-two years,
Shepherds Gully
Robert Greenhalsh, twenty three years
Walterhall
James Jeffries, thirty eight years, Dee
street
John Flynn, twenty-four years, Dee
street
Frank Samuel Kneebone, twenty-five years'
Railway Boarding-House
Thomas William Magee, forty-four years,
River street
Samuel George Hedges, eighteen years,
Moongan

THE DARDANELLES FIGHTTNG.
______
PRIVATE PATTERSON'S
EXPERIENCES.
Private H. A. Patterson, one of the
Ninth Battalion which effected such a
successful landing at Gaba-Tepe on the
morning of the 25th of April last, who is
a son of Mrs. Patterson, of West and
Gladstone streets, Rockhampton, was one
of the soldiers invalided to Australia hy
the hospital ship Ballarat. He enlisted
at Rosewood. Private Patterson returned
to Rockhampton on Sunday afternoon,
and, in the course of converwition with a
representative of thc " Morniug Bulletin"
on Monday, said :
"I was in the second boatload that
reached the beach. There were five of
my companions dead and seven wounded
when we got there. From thc time wc
left the destroyers wc were under rifle,
machine, and artillery fire from the Turks.
Wc jumped out of the boats into thc
Water.- The Turkish forts wore sweeping
the bench with shells, and they were
assisted by machine guns posted half
way up thc hill. Wc never loaded our
rifles until we landed on the beach. Wc
there loaded, fixed bayonets, and threw
our packs on the beach. I never saw mine
again, nor did most of thc others see
theirs. There was only one thing or thc
other for it when we landed on the beach.
'That Was to either wait there for orders
and be killed without lifting our hands
or go up to the top of the hill and root
the Turks out. So away we went up to the
top. Our orders had been to take the
hill at all costs. Wc had three days to take it
in and were to get no reinforcements
until we did, so we either had lt
capture the position or die to a man
Seventeen minutes after landing we captured
the first line of trenches and half
an hour later the second line. This was we
did without firing a shot and solely with
the bayonet. Wc captured a machine
gun in the first trench after bayonetting
all the gunners. We captured three
machine guns and a Krupp gun in the
next line of trenches. Then we had an
open valley to cross for about 200 yards.
We lost pretty heavily crossing this
place but the Turks' losses were about
four times ours. We were at close quarters
several times, but after the Turks
got a taste of thc bayonet in the first
charge, they had no time for thc Australian
bayonet. We could not get to
closer quarters with them after that. We
made several charges after that they never
wanted for us. I believe we were opposed
by an enemy outnumbering us at the rate
of eight to one in the landing. When we
got into the valley we were met by a terrible
hail of'shrapnel. At times twenty
shrapnels a minute were bursting over our
lines. We took and lost and retook the
hill in the advance of the valley three times
and finally held it until reinforcements came.
Reinforcements of New South Wales,
Victoria and New Zealand troops
in that order arrived. In the afternoon
Indian mountain batteries landed an
later in the in evening thc Royal Marine
Light Infantry. The first Australian in
in motion was a Quccnsland gun from
Seventh Battery, which destroyed a whole
Turkish battery in its first two shots. On
the Sunday night we were driven back a
little, but gained a liitle more ground
after dark. I should say we were then
two miles or a little more inland. We
established firing lines for a distance of
eight miles and on Tuesday linked up our
firing lines up with the firing lines of the
British troops who landed at Cape Helles
Wc commenced to dig ourselves in then.
" I lasted from then out for seven
days under continuous fire until I received
concussion of the brain from a shell which
exploded on the parapet of our trench. I
also received a slight wound on thc shoulder
from a shrapnel bullet. In consequence
of the shell exploding so close
to me, I have practically lost the sight
of my left eye.

Wounded Soldiers.
Sydney's Great Welcome
Interviews with the Men.

SYDNEY, August 12.

The steamer Ballarat, with disabled troops on board, arrived yesterday. The men had a great reception. When the boat was finally berthed, the Governor (Sir Gerald Strickland), the Premier (Mr. Holman), the Chief Secretary, (Mr. Black), and other members of the State Ministry, went aboard. Sir Gerald Strickland made a formal speech. He said that he had attended to welcome the returned, wounded, and to show his 'appreciation' of their gallant conduct. He had deemed it advisable not to hold the men to any formal proceedings, but to expedite, so far as possible, their trip to the hospital, where they would receive the necessary attention. The bulk of the men seemed in the pink of condition. It thus comes as a surprised that in the medical view only 25 per cent of them will be fit for service again. At any rate their spirits were not damaged, for they sang and they laughed and generally showed that they were thoroughly enjoying themselves.

Red Cross ladies were especially prominent in the welcome. They had baskets of cigarettes, and their stock disappeared with extraordinary rapidity. Motor cars carried the soldiers to the hospital. They could have carried away ten times as many soldiers. It was noticeable that many of the cars were driven by ladies. The cars passed through dense crowds of people, the majority of them carrying flags, who thronged the streets from just outside the wharf, right to the top of Oxford street.

The crowd for the most part was highly excited. Nearly everybody had an idea that some one of those who were carried past them might be one of their friends. Consequently, they peered closely at the cars as they whirled past, trying to see in the face's of the men seated in them someone they could personally welcome. The procession was not a slow one. The authorities arranged for the cars to travel at a rapid rate, and a large body of policemen were on duty, keeping the track clear. It was felt that if the pace had been slow, people who saw relatives or friends, would have broken the line to grasp their hands or would have got on the steps of the cars and caused confusion. The fast pace, however, did not prevent people from recognising their loved ones, as the case of Georges Motder proved nor did it stop people from throwing presents into the cars. Every soldier got something, either cigarettes or boxes of lollies, flags, or flowers. Indeed, all along the route bunches of violets or wattle were thrown to the returned heroes. Buildings along the route of the procession were decorated.

The brave wounded Queenslanders headed the procession. They went to the railway station, and were enthusiastically greeted there by large crowds. Motor cars to carry the soldiers were voluntarily provided. There were many more offered than were needed.
Altogether nearly 400 were allowed into the road adjoining the wharf. The Queenslanders, instead of going to the Soldiers Club as arranged, passed straight through to the railway station, to commence the journey to Brisbane in the 1:30 train. This arrangement was arrived at as the men were anxious to get home. The northern railway time-table was such that otherwise they could not have left Sydney until yesterday. The Red Cross Society had arranged a luncheon at the club for them, and had invited several Queensland women to be present. In the afternoon they were to have been the guests of the club at tea. When the news came through of the altered arrangements. Dr Mary Booth and Miss Gladys Marks, set off for Woolloomooloo in a wattle decked motor car, into which they had hastily packed cigars and cigarettes, and a souvenir postcard of the soldiers' club, for each of the returning men.

CORPORAL INTERVIEWED.
Corporal Lawler, of Wyong, who was in the 4th Battalion of 1st brigade, was not five yards from Teddy Larsin (a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly), when he fell. "It must have been shrapnel, 'said Lawler, "there was very little rifle fire. Teddv was well up in the front, but I cannot tell you any details, for we had all gone mad.

I suppose you have read of the big Queenslander who bayoneted the Turk and threw him over his shoulder. It is quite true. The man I know. He is big Montgomery, a Queensland footballer. Of course, he did not actually lift him over his shoulder, but he charged up the hill into the Turk who, in his fright, stumbled forward onto the bayonet. Montgomery
was crouching, and the impetus carried the Turk right over his head. It looked as if Montgomery had thrown him over. Let me tell you one thing. I saw service, in South Africa for two years, and know what I am talking about.

The fine discipline of the Australians was a revelation. I have never seen anything to beat it. It isn't the easiest thing in the world to get men to withhold their fire, with an enemy charging at them, and the excitement tremendous, but the Australians always let them get within 150 yards, before they fired. Even if they had no officers, as was often the case, they would bold their fire until the right moment. That sneaks even greater volumes for their superbly coolness than the fact that they would play card in trenches under shrapnel fire. At bayonet work, too, they were fine. And how the Turks hate the bayonet. They squeal and run at the sight of it. I have seen hundreds of bayoneted Turks, and not one of them was bayoneted in the front. They had turned and run when the bayonet got them. I have never seen the body of a bayoneted Australian. At close quarters the Turks are nowhere.

CHEERFUL THOUGH BLIND.

The cheeriest man on board appeared to be Trooper Frank Downs, of Brisbane. He is going to stay with Colonel G.E. Rowe, in Sydney for a few days. Colonel Rowe was senior chaplain on the boat. Downs is a fine physical specimen, but now is blind. A bullet blew out one eye and destroyed the other optic nerve, which took the sight from the other eye.

"This young fellow, said Colonel Rowe, "was the brightest boy on board. When anyone was down in the dumps he was the first to buck him up".
Downs overheard the conversation. " Don't tell anyone where we are
going to stay, Colonel," he implored. "I am no society man."

Every man on board the Ballarat spoke of the cheerfulness of Private Downs. Though lie has lost the sight of both eyes, he has a continual smile playing round his mouth. His comrades declare that nobody could stop him from singing "Tipperary." Private Downs said that he had lost his sight after he had been ashore at Gaba Tepe a few hours. A bullet took his right eye out and lodged behind the other. The doctors tell him that they have great hopes that he will regain, his sight. "Anyway, " he remarked, "I am not going to give up hope. Even if I don't see again. I shall have the consolation of knowing I lost my sight in a great cause."

WELCOME TO QUEENSLANDERS.
The wounded Queenslanders were not forgotten by the Hornsby residents. The special train, conveying them northwards, was met at Hornsby station by a number of persons, who gave to the soldiers sandwiches, fruit, &c. When the Queenslanders passed through
Woodville Junction, Newcastle, in the afternoon, the local executive of the Red Cross Society supplied the soldiers with refreshments.

COMPLAINT ABOUT FOOD.
During the brief stay at the station, Private H. A. Patterson Queensland, said that the men had a fairly decent trip on the Ballarat between Alexandria and Albany, but when asked how they were treated, he replied, "Well, the food was not all that could be desired. There was enough food, but it was of very inferior quality. The meat was bad, and the bread had the flavour of kerosene about it for the most part." How do you account for that?" he was asked. "The only reason I know of," he replied, "is that the, flour from which the bread was made, was stored down in the hold amongst some kerosene which must have been leaking." We, had better treatment around the Australian coast. Our welcome at Sydney completely outdid that at Melbourne."

EXPERIENCES IN THE FIRING LINE
Recounting his experiences at the Dardanelles, Pte. Patterson said that he was with the first landing party, and remained in the firing line for seven days. Then he was shot in the left lung. He also suffered for a time from concussion of the brain, caused by the explosion of a shell. "My most exciting, moment, I should say," proceeded Private Patterson, "was when I was on observation duty on the night of 25th April. I thought it was impossible for any person to approach me without my knowing it. Suddenly I found myself seized by the back of my tunic by two Indian, stretcher bearers, who inquired whether I was hurt. From that time to when I was wounded I was under continuous fire.

The first hospital arrangements at Alexandria were crude, and did not seem to have the proper supply of nurses or doctors. The boat I came over in from the Dardanelles to Egypt contained 600 wounded men. We buried 18 at sea, yet for all this crowd there was only one doctor, two or three orderlies, and a few soldiers, who had been left behind to
clean up the boat. Some of the men's wounds were not dressed, from the time of being wounded until, Alexandria was reached."