Narooma RSL sub-branch is restoring servicemen's graves that have fallen into disrepair because no friends or family are left to tend them.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
As president of Narooma RSL, Paul Naylor visits Narooma's cemetery every Anzac Day to put flowers on the servicemen's graves he knows.
He said there are 150 servicemen's graves in the cemetery.
"There are a lot of Diggers' graves up here and unfortunately often the relatives are deceased and the graves have fallen into a state of disrepair.
"We have taken it upon ourselves to clean them up and show them the respect they deserve," Mr Naylor said.
READ ALSO:
The branch had the idea in 2019 but it was the passing of Allan Forster, one of the last surviving Rats of Tobruk, in March 2020 that kick-started things.
Narooma RSL member and Department of Veteran Affairs welfare officer Ian Noormets raised around $7000 through crowdfunding and the proceeds of the 2021 Anzac Day Two-Up game "to give this hero of Australia this headstone".
"I started walking through the cemetery and found other servicemen's graves that needed looking after," Mr Noormets said.
Several volunteers involved
Whenever he finds a serviceman's grave that needs attention, he and amateur historian Sylvia Gauslaa investigate whether or not any friends or families live nearby.
If not, Mr Noormets contacts the Office of Australian War Graves to confirm the serviceman is entitled to a war grave.
He also clears the restoration work with Eurobodalla Shire Council, which is responsible for the cemetery.
The restoration effort is helped by a NSW woman who makes ceramic poppies to decorate the graves.
She donates the poppy in exchange for a photograph of the restored grave.
We don't leave anyone behind
There are several instances of graves that have sunk completely into the ground, leaving just a headstone behind and some without names altogether.
"We are about to get a plaque to acknowledge servicemen and veterans who are buried here with unmarked graves," Mr Noormets said.
"We know he is a serviceman because of the Rising Sun badge on the grave."
Mr Naylor said some other RSLs are doing similar things.
"We do it because we are in a little rural community and I feel it is our responsibility to look after these people," he said.
"It is our own personal code of conduct that we don't leave anyone behind and if we can, we fix them up.
"That came from the camaraderie of WWI and it is a good example to set to the community."
Love your regional news? Then sign up for the Voice of Real Australia, daily news from across the country delivered free to your inbox
