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ANZAC Day is not far away so your mind may be turning to the special memorial at Splendour Rock that remembers 13 bushwalkers (from bushwalking clubs of Bushwalking NSW) who did not return from World War II.  This memorial in the Megalong Valley of the Blue Mountains must be Australia’s most remote war memorial.

You may or may not be aware of some other memorial plaques at this site.  A new book by Keith Maxwell and Michael Keats OAM should be on your bookshelf.  It is the definitive work that is bound to become a valuable reference on Splendour Rock with so much information.  It answers so many questions.  For example,

# Who found Splendour Rock plus when was the plaque installed and by whom?

# When was the memorial put on the official NSW register of war memorials and Australian War Memorial?

# Who are the bushwalkers remembered and what did they look like plus who were the bushwalkers who served and returned from WWII?

# How did the bushwalkers at home support their friends in uniform?

# How have these bushwalkers been remembered at ANZAC Day Dawn Services starting in 1948?

# What are the other memorial plaques including on the Central Coast and in a North Sydney church?  What is their story?

# How have fallen NZ (of ANZAC – New Zealand) trampers been remembered?

# What is the bushwalking club founded by a walk to Splendour Rock?

With 360 glossy pages it is a great read packed full of so much information plus pictures and early maps.  A must for every bushwalker’s bookshelf.

Splendour Rock – A Bushwalkers War Memorial by Keith Maxwell and Michael Keats OAM is available at bookshops where you find other great bushwalking books or from the website – bushexplorers.com.au (postage free at $66)

Keith Maxwell.

The Splendour Rock Choir from the Illawarra Grammar School.

Did you know that there are four other memorials in the immediate area of the plaque at Splendour Rock in the Wild Dog Mountains.  A detailed, fully researched book by Michael Keats and Keith Maxwell is now with the printer.  For any bushwalker with even a passing interest in Splendour Rock this will become a go to reference.

Splendour Rock honours thirteen (13) bushwalkers from clubs who died on active service during WWII. While Splendour Rock has been described as ‘God’s Balcony’ with its views of the Southern Blue Mountains it was not the first choice of a site for a memorial.

The book answers so many questions such as, who were the thirteen (13) young men, how did they die and what did they contribute to bushwalking?  How have they since been remembered?  Who cast the Splendour Rock plaque and when / how was it installed and then dedicated?  Who were the bushwalkers who served and returned?  How were they supplied comforts from home?  What is the story behind the other four memorials.

A great read and a great reference not to be missed.  Watch out for a book launch early in 2023.

Keith Maxwell.

BNSW Honorary Historian.

ANZAC Day is not far off.  Many bushwalkers will be heading to Splendour Rock in the Wild Dog Mountains of the Megalong Valley.  They will be there to honour thirteen (13) bushwalkers remembered by a simple but moving Dawn Service at this memorial plaque.  There has been an annual Dawn Service since at least from 1992 and perhaps even 1990 (records are incomplete).  Prior to that time Dawn Services were infrequent but usually at significant anniversaries such as 10, 25 and 50 years since its dedication in 1948 by the NSW Federation of Bushwalking Clubs (now Bushwalking NSW)..

The Bushwalking NSW website has a file that describes the fallen we remember at Splendour Rock prepared by Michael Keats OAM, Belinda Keir and Keith Maxwell.  See – https://www.bushwalkingnsw.org.au/history/

There is something special about Splendour Rock that has been hidden plain sight.  Its not just the location which is very special with its stunning view of the southern Blue Mountains.  It tells the story of a changing Australia in World War II.

In WWI Australia sent a new army, the AIF (Australian Imperial Force) to the other side of the world for an amphibious landing on ANZAC Day 1915 at Gallipoli.

Australia industrialised as war came very close in WWII and the casualties tell an interesting story.  Among the bushwalkers remembered a minority were in the AIF but all four (4) died in the fall of Singapore in 1942 or later as POW of the Japanese.

Bruce Elder (pictured) of Coast & Mountain Walkers died on HMAS Sydney when it was lost off the Western Australian coast in November 1941.

James McCormack of YMCA Ramblers although in RAAF died on HMAS Canberra when it was lost in the Battle of Savo Island in the Pacific Ocean.  Again, not Europe.

Norman Saill of Sydney Bush Walkers and RAAF died in the New Guinea campaign.  The remaining six (6) bushwalkers (of the 13) were all in RAAF and died while based in the UK.

So, hiding in plain sight was the fact that at Splendour Rock more airmen (8) are remembered than soldiers (4) who were more likely to have died close to Australia and not in some foreign (European) field.

Splendour Rock Memorial 1948

Elder Bruce photo

Keith Maxwell.