The City of Greater Bendigo has created a website for this year's Anzac Day centenary celebrations. Today we continue a series showcasing the website.
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George Daniel (1893-1976)
George was born at Happy Valley, a little town near Ballarat, and he was quite young the family moved to Scarsdale, where he completed his primary education. At the Ballarat Continuation School George completes his secondary education, from where he became a student teacher, spending time at various schools in the district. His first school as a qualified teacher was at Foster in Gippsland.
George was a very athletic individual playing football and cricket in his early life, however, his greatest love was cross country running, a sport he distinguished himself by winning many medals and trophies.
On September 13, 1914, George enlisted in the 8th Light Horse Regiment and saw service at Gallipoli and Egypt. It was while he was in Egypt that he was wounded and gassed and it was these injuries that were going to change his life.
On his return to Australia, he was appointed to Camp Hill School Bendigo, because of its milder climate, which would benefit his health at this time. On arrival in Bendigo he took up a position at Camp Hill Primary School. George lived at Spring Gully and to get to school he drove his horse and gig, stabling the horse at the Bendigo Showgrounds (Tom Flood Sportsground).
After a short time, George brought a property at White Hills, and built his stables there (Napier Park Funerals now occupy the site), and it was from these stables that he achieved his greatest success.
During these early years at White Hills, George developed a friendship with Wally watts, a farmer at Kamarooka. George and Wally worked a system of spelling horses on Wally's farm, George would take the horses to be spelled, tied to the gig and meet Wally half way, while Wally would have the horses returning from a spell tied to his gig, and they would change over at the half way mark.
In these early days, George trained the horses on the roads only taking them to the Epsom Racetrack for their fast work. As a teacher did not want it known that he owned, trained and drove trotting horses, therefore, he used the "nom de plume" D George, so many of his driving successes were under this name. George won many show trots and was a regular at the Bendigo Agricultural Shows.
Transporting horses was also a problem in the early days of trotting, and horses were either driven in harness or were taken by train. In his early days George used the train, however, during the war years (1939-45) he obtained a horse float and in company with Jack Wilson, transported his horses all over the east coast of Australia.
George trained over 100 winners at trotting, some of these were "Percy Direct", "Diana Wood", (both winners of the Richmond Thousand 1928/29), "Blue Chip", "Prince Pirate", "Queen Pirate", "Tennessee Direct" (a problem horse who would savage anyone who came near), "Bingen", "Constellation", "Forward", "Blue Chimes", "Belle Bronte", "Cissie Voyage" to name a few. George is probably better known as the trainer of "Sailors Guide", a galloper.
George was active in community organisations, being a member of the Masonic Lodge, the Quarry Hill. Golf Club, and the Bendigo Bowling Club. Throughout his life George was always willing to help anyone, and his reputation as a schoolteacher was carried far and wide, for there are many of his former pupils still have fond memories of George even today.
Source: Morris Hesse
The Tuckerman brothers of White Hills
Thomas William was the eldest of three sons of Thomas and May Tuckerman of White Hills who served in World War I. He was born in 1880 and enlisted on April 16, 1917.
He was married with a wife (Ethel) and 6 children. Being a miner by trade he served in the 2nd Tunneling Coy as a Sapper (Reg. # 7318). Serving in France he sailed from Melbourne aboard the HMAT A32 Themistocles on August 4, 1917, returning to Australia on January 18, 1919, suffering from a shrapnel wound, fracturing the right leg, on September 30, 1918, at Bellicourt. Thomas died, soon after returning, in the Alfred Hospital, aged 39.
Robert Samuel Tuckerman, born in White Hills in 1884 served with the 24th Infantry Battalion/2nd Pioneer Battalion (Reg. # 742) as a Private in France. He enlisted on March 11, 1915, and sailed on the HMAT A14 Euripides on May 10, 1915, returning to Australia on March 9, 1919. Robert died in Armadale in 1979 aged 92.
Frederick Charles Tuckerman, the youngest of the three sons to serve his country was also born in White Hills in 1891 and enlisted 4 months after Robert on July 28, 1915 with the 6th Battalion, 14th Reinforcement. His unit left Melbourne aboard the HMAT A32 Themistocles on January 28, 1916 headed for France. Serving as a Private (Reg. # 4618) Frederick was slightly wounded in action on August 5, 1916, before continuing onto the Western Front for a further 3 years, returning home on May 20, 1919. He died at the Heidelberg Repat. Hospital in 1976 aged 85.
Source: Larry Wust
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