Southside Federal MP Graham Perrett launches war memorial project for Chinese servicemen and women

 

 

Community leaders on Brisbane's southside recently joined Federal Member for Moreton Graham Perrett to plan a southside memorial to Australian Defence Force personnel of Chinese descent.

 

Mr Perrett said the project would honour the past and present involvement of Chinese Australians in the Australian Defence Forces.

 

"This is not just about erecting a monument. It's about educating school children and the broader community about the stories of service and sacrifice of Australian Chinese in the armed forces," he said.

 

"There is already strong support for the memorial and for its location at Sunnybank RSL in Gager Street."

 

Mr Perrett said the meeting on Tuesday 19 May 2009 marked the 66th anniversary of the death of one of Australia's most famed Chinese‐Australian war‐time heroes, Billy Sing.

 

"Billy was born to a Chinese father and English mother," he said.

 

"Known to his fellow diggers as "The Assassin", Billy was a sniper with the Australian Fifth Light Horse Regiment and is conservatively credited with more than 150 kills in Gallipoli.

 

A mini-series about his life is currently in production.

 

Mr Perrett said the memorial steering committee is seeking further community input and will meet again in July.

 

• StumbleUpon
• Digg it
• Furl
• Yahoo! MyWeb
• Newsvine
• Facebook
• Twitter
• MySpace
• Delicious
• Kwoff

Print