Soldier settler memorial to be unveiled in Numurkah

Mar 11, 2022

Step back in time: A group of soldier settlers forming a work-group. At the beginning of the Murray Valley Soldier Settlement Scheme the farmers were employed and paid a wage to do development work until their farms were ready to start production.

A new memorial in the Soldier’s Memorial Park in Numurkah will be unveiled on Saturday, March 26 to mark the 75th anniversary of the Murray Valley Soldier Settlement Scheme.

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It was the largest such scheme in Australia, stretching from Yarroweyah to beyond Nathalia and from Strathmerton to Numurkah.

It included 519 irrigated dairy or fruit growing farms and covered 25,500 hectares (63,000 acres).

The first settlers moved onto their farms in 1947.

The memorial project has been developed and managed by a committee comprising Numurkah Rotary, Numurkah RSL and Numurkah Historical Society.

Committee member John Watson, son of a soldier settler, said they expected a large turnout for the unveiling and associated activities.

“Sadly there are none of the original male settlers left in the area and as far as we know only one is still living, in Western Australia, but there are a number of widows attending along with many descendants including great-great-grandchildren,” Mr Watson said.

Following the official unveiling at midday, there will be a barbecue in the park, then an opportunity to review memorabilia and share stories with refreshments at the RSL Hall.

The historical society will have a special soldier settler display at its museum following the unveiling on Saturday afternoon and a barbecue brunch will be held there on Sunday, March 27.

Mr Watson said the scheme transformed the whole region as it coincided with the arrival of a major irrigation scheme supplied from the Yarrawonga Weir.

Following World War II the Victorian Government developed the scheme, buying existing grazing and grain producing properties and subdividing them into much smaller irrigated orchards and dairy farms.

"A total of 564 settlers, each of them a veteran of the Second World War, participated,“ Mr Watson said.

“That is somewhat more than the 519 farms, but sadly some of the veterans could not manage due to suffering what is now known as PTSD and were replaced by other ex-servicemen.

“The memorial is more about those veterans and their families than about the farms.

“Numurkah is the ideal venue for the memorial as the whole scheme was managed from Numurkah.”