Tuesday, 11 August 2026

 Rikkie-Lee TYRRELL (Northern Victoria) (14:57): This past week I had the pleasure of meeting Mick Thompson from the 3rd Cavalry Regiment (Vietnam) Association Inc, and he kindly gave me a personal tour of the Tongala Avenue of Honour and war memorial. The avenue of honour was entirely built by the local community’s veterans, and they have proudly displayed the Sandpiper, an army tank bought and donated by Mick himself for the memorial – with a very entertaining transit story of her trip down from Queensland. With such dedication to and pride in these nationally recognised memorials, it is a shame that the community are stressing about the duration of the lease with VicTrack. The 10-year lease on the location of the avenue of honour really should be extended or, better yet, gifted to the community who maintain it. Thank you, Mick, for your tireless efforts to ensure the Tongala community and its visitors have access to this important history of ours.