ONE of the first Bendigo residents to enlist in the Australian Imperial Force after the outbreak of the First World War was William Howard.
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With fellow Bendigo boys Steve DeAraugo and Frank Poliness, Howard was one of many to fight in the trenches at Gallipoli alongside revered Victoria Cross winner Albert Jacka.
Though not necessarily household names and not as highly decorated, the contribution of Privates DeAraugo and Poliness and Lance-Corporal Howard to Australia's war effort cannot be underestimated.
It is these contributions and others like them that artist Brett Belot had in mind when designing his latest work, a large-scale oil painting celebrating some of the unsung heroes of Anzac.
The work is the result of painstaking research over several weeks and serves as a tribute to the many local men and women who served their country in time of war.
Dad would have been very humble about it all but very elated.
- Marie Howard
Belot was inspired to embark on the epic project, which took over 400 man hours to complete, while watching the Anzac Day parade two years ago.
"I had the idea to create a tribute as a professional artist and I spoke to Cliff (Richards) from the RSL and Peter Ball from the Bendigo Military Museum and they jumped at the idea," he said.
"I said to them ‘Who would you like to see in it, who may be significant, but not so significant that they've been out there in the public eye before, but their contribution is just as important?', so we've got a guy in there called Reginald Hunter who's the brother of Herbert Hunter.
"Now Herbert was a great athlete, he played footy for Essendon and he was a Bendigo Football League president, so he's the lesser known brother of Herbert but his contribution is just as important."
Among the crowd at yesterday's official unveiling at the Bendigo District RSL were William Howard's daughters Marie and Aileen, who said they felt a sense of pride at the recognition of their father's sacrifice.
"Dad would have been very humble about it all but very elated," Marie said.
"He wouldn't have believed it," Aileen added.
"After all this time, it's 100 years later and here he is."
The project was made possible through the Anzac Centenary Local Grants Program introduced by the former federal Labor government which provided up to $125,000 in funding to support commemorative projects in each electorate and was supported by Bendigo MP Lisa Chesters.
"It's a great honour to be able to unveil this artwork that so vividly illustrates the service and sacrifice of our local servicemen and women in the First World War," she said.
