We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the place now called Victoria, and all First Peoples living and working on this land. We celebrate the history and contemporary creativity of the world’s oldest living culture and pay respect to Elders — past, present and future.

Please be aware that this website may contain culturally sensitive material — images, voices and information provided by now deceased persons. Content also may include images and film of places that may cause sorrow.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are advised that this website may contain culturally sensitive material — images, voices and information provided by now deceased persons. Content also may include images and film of places that may cause sorrow.

Some material may contain terms that reflect authors’ views, or those of the period in which the item was written or recorded but may not be considered appropriate today. These views are not necessarily the views of Victorian Collections.

Users of this site should be aware that in many areas of Australia, reproduction of the names and photographs of deceased people is restricted during a period of mourning. The length of this time varies and is determined by the community.

Reuse of any Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander material on this site may require cultural clearances. Users are advised to contact the source organisation to discuss appropriate reuse.

From the collection of Melbourne Legacy

3180 Items featured online

Document - Poem, Fifty Years On. A Reflection by Brian. Supplement to the Melbourne Legacy Bulletin No 2340 26.9.1978

Untitled image

Reuse this media

Can you reuse this media without permission? No (with exceptions, see below)

Conditions of use

All rights reserved

This media item is licensed under "All rights reserved". You cannot share (i.e. copy, distribute, transmit) or rework (i.e. alter, transform, build upon) this item, or use it for commercial purposes without the permission of the copyright owner. However, an exception can be made if your intended use meets the "fair dealing" criteria. Uses that meet this criteria include research or study; criticism or review; parody or satire; reporting news; enabling a person with a disability to access material; or professional advice by a lawyer, patent attorney, or trademark attorney.

Attribution

Please acknowledge the item’s source, creator and title (where known)

Have a question? Contact Melbourne Legacy
Untitled image

Reuse this media

Can you reuse this media without permission? No (with exceptions, see below)

Conditions of use

All rights reserved

This media item is licensed under "All rights reserved". You cannot share (i.e. copy, distribute, transmit) or rework (i.e. alter, transform, build upon) this item, or use it for commercial purposes without the permission of the copyright owner. However, an exception can be made if your intended use meets the "fair dealing" criteria. Uses that meet this criteria include research or study; criticism or review; parody or satire; reporting news; enabling a person with a disability to access material; or professional advice by a lawyer, patent attorney, or trademark attorney.

Attribution

Please acknowledge the item’s source, creator and title (where known)

Have a question? Contact Melbourne Legacy

Historical information

An article from a supplement to the Bulletin with a poem by Legatee Brian Armstrong written just before he passed away. It reflects on Foundation Day and the first 50 years of Service certificates that were being awarded. Legatee Armstrong had been president in 1937. The prom was called Accolade.
Last Anzac Day a fine old Digger / Asked me to write him 'a sort of a letter' /
Mentioning something of what he had done / As a private soldier in World War One.
He had lived alone since he lost he wife / But a score of 'Grandies' adorned his life /
They were always asking what he had done / As a Front Line Digger in World War One.
He wanted to give them something to show / When he got his call and 'had to go' /
But he couldn't remember and wasn't sure / When they fingered his medal and asked for more.
He was one of our best and I knew him well / In those far off days of pain and hell /
So I wrote recalling his scenes of strife / Especially one when he'd saved my life.
Later I found a note at my gate / Just a line of thanks to 'my Dear Mate'.
That grand old word so hardly won / In freezing trench and blinding sun /
Fifty years gone but it's not too late / To be proud when a Digger still calls you Mate.
Thrice in our time have the War Bells tolled / And thrice does the Legacy tale unfold.
Fifty years gone but it's never too late / To guard the Kin of a fallen mate.
The story is written for all to see / The 'Why' and the 'How' of Legacy /
But it still rings true that it all began / With the trust in his mate of a War-Torn Man.

The article was part of an album of past presidents from 1965 to 1989. The folder included biographical details and obituaries, eulogies and death notices of prominent Legatees. The items have been catalogued separately.

Significance

A record of a poem made by Legatee Brian Armstrong a past president of Legacy about the mateship of Legacy. The information was collected to record the lives of prominent legatees in a folder.