A love of horses was the catalyst for a Bendigo artist to create work about the First World War experience.
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A painting by Arnold Street Gallery director Susan McMinn, which depicts a scene from the Australian troops’ campaign, will go on show inside Melbourne’s Shrine of Remembrance next week.
The date marks one century since the battle of Beersheba, located in what is now called Israel, a town Australian forces captured when mounted soldiers charged on Turkish trenches.
A horse owner for most of her life, Ms McMinn was affected by stories of the duress the animals endured in the war, especially those dispatched to desert regions.
“They all (the soldiers) described this ‘blazing sand’ into their eyes, and into the horses,” she said.
While horses typically needed 30 litres of water every day, the campaign meant they often went 60 hours without a drink, all the while carrying a 130-kilogram load.
Soldiers even sheltered behind the animals while firing upon the enemy.
The experience of war forged a close connection between the men and their horses, the gallery director said.
“People and horses often have a great connection, but this was something greater,” she said.
“The horses were like a person to them, it was quite intense.”
The artist pieced together servicemen’s experiences from the letters and diaries they left behind, as well as a visit to the site of the bloody battle.
While it is not clear how many Australian horses were killed during the First World War, historians estimate 500,000 British horses were victims to the four-year-long conflict.
Her two-metre-tall oil and charcoal work, entitled Desert March, will be viewed alongside pieces from artists like Sidney Nolan.
She said it was an honour for her work to be exhibited beside theirs.
The painting will remain at the Shrine until next October, when it will be returned to the Brisbane collector who bought the work.
It is not the first time Ms McMinn’s work has featured at the war memorial. She previously showed an animated film, The Last Warhorse, at the site.
She was not without a personal connection to armed conflict; her uncle was a fighter jet navigator during the Second World War.
Several services are planned around Bendigo to commemorate the centenary of the charge on Beersheba, including a weekend of events in Elphinstone.
A plaque commemorating the event will be unveiled in the town, while touring exhibition Women of Empire will also go on show.
Mark Kearney
Journalist. Traveller. Pop culture connoisseur. Mark is passionate about education, the arts and social justice, especially stories affecting the LGBTI community.
Journalist. Traveller. Pop culture connoisseur. Mark is passionate about education, the arts and social justice, especially stories affecting the LGBTI community.
