THE tram no longer stops in front of the Bendigo Law Courts, but in the past it was one of the city’s busiest stations.
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An ornamental bench sits on the side of Pall Mall where, over the years, it gave shelter to countless lawyers and barristers as they waited to commute home.
The closure of Bendigo’s trams as a commuter service in 1972 meant the shelter was used less and less – so much so that a plaque commemorating it went missing.
Few would have been aware of its history.
On Wednesday, the plaque was officially reinstated and now all Bendigonians can reflect on the stories of four men – Captain Clive Connelly, Major Eric Connelly, Lieutenant Alan Hyett and Major Murdoch Mackay.
The bench was installed in 1921 in honour of these soldiers who were lost in World War I, all of which served as lawyers in the law courts directly opposite.
They were killed before they could fulfill their potential in the legal profession.
Their descendants raised funds and, with the financial support of the Bendigo Law Association and City of Greater Bendigo, purchased a new plaque and restore the shelter to its former glory.
Major General Greg Garde, now the president of the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, attended a special ceremony in Rosalind Park on Wednesday where the four men were remembered by their families, the legal community and other community leaders.
He said the loss of these men was a shock to their families and the wider Bendigo community.
“Clive, Eric, Alan and Murdoch lost their lives at the average age of 27 years,” he said.
“They are heroes of Bendigo, and it is fit that they should be recognised as heroes by the Bendigo community and all Australians.
“They are recognised by this plaque in their home city and not far from the historic court building in which they practiced law.
“It is with great humility that we rededicate the plaque to these four Bendigo and Australian heroes.”
Captain Clive Emerson Connelly, Major Eric Winfield Connelly
The Connelly family was one of Bendigo’s most prominent families in the late 19th century.
Thomas James Connelly emigrated from New Orleans in 1852 and started a line of coaches in Eaglehawk shortly after.
Among his nine children was Thomas Jefferson Connelly who, after beginning a legal practice, became mayor of Bendigo in 1887 at the age of 29. He was the first Bendigo native to hold the position.
His sons Clive Emerson Connelly and Eric Winfield Connely followed him into the legal profession and into the armed forces.
Clive Emerson Connelly was born in 1885 and was admitted to the bar in 1907, before practicing in Bendigo and setting up his own legal practice in Melbourne just before the outbreak of war in 1914.
He was appointed Captain and served in the 14th Australian Infantry Battalion under the command of a fellow solicitor.
Clive Emerson Connelly returned from injury in August 1915 and was sent to Gallipoli to take part in a further attack on Hill 60.
Three quarters of the 100 men who fought in the battle were killed.
Captain Clive Emerson Connelly was shot three times in the first wave of the attack and died at the age of 30.
Eric Winfield Connelly was born in 1888 and was a practicing barrister in Sydney when war broke out and he enlisted one month later, quickly rising through the ranks to 2nd Lieutenant.
He was wounded on the Gallipoli Peninsula, and promoted to Major following his recovery.
Major Eric Winfield Connelly was struck and killed by two fragments from a bomb while sleeping near Peronne, in the Somme. He was 29.
Major Murdoch Nish Mackay
Angus Mackay arrived in Bendigo in 1853 as an established journalist, and became part-owner of the Bendigo Advertiser.
He helped to establish the McIvor Times and Riverine Herald, and later The Daily Telegraph in Sydney.
His son, George Mackay, became editor of the Bendigo Advertiser and was a prominent historian before the birth of his son Murdoch Nish Mackay, who studied Law in Melbourne.
Murdoch Nish Mackay answered the call to serve after the landing at Gallipoli and was appointed to the 22nd Australian Infantry Battalion in 1915. As Major, he participated in the evacuated of December 1915 and was in the trenches in France by April 1916, at times the second in command of his battalion.
On August 4, he was rallying Australian soldiers for an attack on German trenches when he was shot by machine gun fire and died at the age of 25.
Lieutenant Alan Newcombe Hyett
James Hyett was listed as one of the “founders of Bendigo” after emigrating to the area from Somerset in the 1850s.
His grandson Alan Newcombe Hyett was born in 1889 and after undertook his schooling in Bendigo before moving to Caulfield Grammar.
He was admitted to the Bar in 1913 and entered into a partnership with his father Barly Hyett, as Hyett and Hyett.
Alan Newcombe Hyett enlisted in 1916 and became the burial officer for HQ 3rd Australian Division in May 1917.
He was struck by an artillery shell while travelling by bicycle in Ploegsteert Wood, Belgium, in Juny 1917 at the age of 27.
Robertson Hyetts law firm in Bendigo remains to this day.