In 2003, Arthritis Victoria (AV) held an outreach event at a school in Stawell as part of its Rural And Regional Education (RARE) Program. Students were taken through a range of exercises on a sporting field or through a martial arts class indoors. They also attended an education session conducted by AV staff. This photo depicts one group of students queueing up while an adult instructor or teacher holds up a large padded rectangular bag (called a hit/strike shield, or a tackle shield in rugby).Colour photo of a group of students being taken through some exercises by an adult instructor using a yellow padded shield. They are on a grassy sports field. In the background, there are groups of students doing other exercises.arthritis foundation of victoria, afv, osteoporosis victoria, ov, arthritis victoria, av, rural and regional education, rare, outreach, exercise, hit shield, strike shield, tackle shield, bone strength, bone health, joint health, school visit, school program, 2003

Captain John E D White, Australian Army Training Team in Vietnam (AATTV) took over command of 11 Mobile Strike Force (Mike Force) Company in Da Nang, Vietnam, in February 1968. He was 26 years old. The 2 NVA Division was moving from Laos into South Vietnam and his mission was to establish contact with the division and trace its movements south. In mid-March the company was air lifted to the Special Forces camp of Kham Duc, near the Laotian border. They used an old French Foreign Legion fort as a temporary base from which patrols could be sent out. White called it Ngok Tavak after a nearby mountain. Initially, patrols failed to find the enemy, but in late April a patrol clashed with the enemy. At the same time, White received intelligence that the NVA division was closing in. At night they could hear explosions in the distance heading toward them. White decided their best chance was to leave the fort and take to the jungle to adopt guerrilla tactics. However, in the meantime a platoon of United States Marine Corps artillery arrived bringing with them two howitzers and a stockpile of ammunition. To abandon the fort was to abandon the guns. White contacted Da Nang, explaining the predicament, and was ordered to remain where he was. A Civilian Irregular Defense Group (CIDG) platoon was sent to reinforce his numbers. This was a para military force comprised mainly of indigenous highlanders, trained by United States Special Forces. They also brought with them two mortars and their crews. At 3.15am on 10 May 1968 some members of the CIDG chose to assist the NVA to attack the fort instead of supporting Mike Force, and close hand to hand fighting followed, along with grenade attacks and heavy machine gun fire. Air support offered a brief respite from the NVA attack, and some NVA forces were pushed back outside the perimeter by counter attacks, but at 9am White contacted Da Nang to advise that his position was untenable. A second attack was imminent and they could not withstand it, so they would have to withdraw. The wounded were evacuated by helicopter (under orders from Major Mai, the NVA had not attacked the previous medical helicopters that collected the wounded under the cover of air strikes) and at 1pm the rest of the force evacuated east, into the jungle. The NVA did not notice their withdrawal, and continued mortar attacks on the fort for another ninety minutes. Seven kilometres from the fort White called for a helicopter withdrawal of his forces. The force was successfully lifted to Kham Duc and then Da Nang. (Credit AWM)A wooden shield painted grey/black celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the Battle of Ngok Tavak. There are three messages from mates written in black on the back. The shield was presented to Capt John (Jed) White.Presented to Captain John White, AATTV from the men of the Mobile Strike Force, Danang, Vietnam, 1968.mobile strike force, capt john (jed) white, shield, battle of ngok tavak

In 2003, Arthritis Victoria (AV) held an outreach event at a school in Stawell as part of its Rural And Regional Education (RARE) Program. Students were taken through a range of exercises on a sporting field or through a martial arts class indoors. They also attended an education session conducted by AV staff. This photo depicts a student tackling an adult instructor who is holding a hit/strike/tackle shield. There are other students in the distance.Colour photo of a school student tackling an adult instructor, who is holding a yellow padded shield. There are several other students in the background.arthritis foundation of victoria, afv, osteoporosis victoria, ov, arthritis victoria, av, rural and regional education, rare, outreach, exercise, hit shield, strike shield, tackle shield, bone strength, bone health, joint health, school visit, school program, 2003

In 2003, Arthritis Victoria (AV) held an outreach event at a school in Stawell as part of its Rural And Regional Education (RARE) Program. Students were taken through a range of exercises on a sporting field or through a martial arts class indoors. They also attended an education session conducted by AV staff. This photo depicts a student who has just lunged into a hit/strike/tackle shield being held by a teacher/instructor. A group of other students are standing nearby.Colour photo of a school student tackling an adult instructor, who is holding a yellow padded shield. The student has lunged into the padded shield, and is now bent forward with the shield across their back.arthritis foundation of victoria, afv, osteoporosis victoria, ov, arthritis victoria, av, rural and regional education, rare, outreach, exercise, hit shield, strike shield, tackle shield, bone strength, bone health, joint health, school visit, school program, 2003

In 2003, Arthritis Victoria (AV) held an outreach event at a school in Stawell as part of its Rural And Regional Education (RARE) Program. Students were taken through a range of exercises on a sporting field or through a martial arts class indoors. They also attended an education session conducted by AV staff. This photo depicts two instructors helping two students develop their tackling skills while holding a football.Colour photo of two school children and two adult instructors on a grassy sporting field. The instructors are each holding a large yellow padded shield. One of the students is holding a football while lunging into the shield. The other student is picking a football up off the ground. There are several other students in the background, on the field and in front of some playground equipment.arthritis foundation of victoria, afv, osteoporosis victoria, ov, arthritis victoria, av, rural and regional education, rare, outreach, exercise, hit shield, strike shield, tackle shield, bone strength, bone health, joint health, school visit, school program, 2003

A wooden shield with a gold emblem in the centre. In the middle of the emblem there are blue and white waves with black and red items on them. Above this is the worjd Quickmatch, Under the centre there are three brwon objects and under these are the words Swift To Strikeshield, cerberus collection