The Australian 53rd Battalion suffered over 75% casualties in 24hrs at Fromelles. Several men from Mosman did not return. They were among the thousands ‘missing’ in the Great War.
One mother died in 1919, it is said of a broken heart. The other spent a lifetime grieving unable to come to terms with her loss. In 2010, the mystery that had haunted one family for generations was finally resolved…

Fromelles (Pheasant Wood) Military Cemetery

On Saturday June 30th, 1928, Mosman held the biggest public reception in it’s history. It was reported 5-6,000 people gathered to cheer on and listen to two of their greatest heroes. Charles Ulm and Charles Kingsford Smith. Local boys made good. Now home, embraced by their parents, loved ones and a nation thrilled by their daring feats.

Inside page of memorial book presented to Charles Ulm on 30 June 1928. Source: Local Studies collection Barry O’ Keefe Library http://images.mosman.nsw.gov.au?code=MjgzMDQ=

Nellie Stewart and Charles Kingsford Smith were the rock stars of their day. But before Smithy achieved mythic status he was just another young larrikin army volunteer…Who’d have thought Nellie would be buying tickets to his Pacific flight reception with Charles Ulm, at Mosman, over ten years later? And what was the lucky charm Smithy kept on him during his arduous and sometimes lonely flights…

At 10.50am, June 9, 1928 local resident Norman Ellison was am eye-witness to one of the greatest moments in Australian aviation. But from his angle (and the crowd present) all of the four flyers deserved a warm Aussie welcome, not just their hero Smithy. Norman Ellison made sure of it…

Headline story for the ‘Brisbane Daily’ 10 June, 1928