RSL Numurkah secretary and Vietnam War veteran Jeffrey Stanyer with the Vietnam War plaque that was found at a regional tip.
The mystery of a plaque honouring Vietnam veterans that was found in a regional tip has been solved.
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The plaque, which reads ‘Vietnam 1962-1973. Asian bell tree. Dedicated to those who served. Donated by the Vietnam Veterans’ Association. Lest we forget’ was discovered at the Numurkah tip by a member of the public who gave it to the Numurkah RSL.
Goulburn Valley Vietnam Veterans’ Association secretary Peter Dealy put a public call-out to other Vietnam veterans, as well as an article in the The News to see if anyone knew its origins.
And members of the public replied in droves.
Several people who live in the region, as well as one former Numurkah resident who now lives in Canberra, were able to shed some light on the mystery.
Several people told Mr Dealy about the Memorial Australia site that showed a plaque that looked the same was in front of an Asian bell tree at the Nathalia Memorial Gardens.
The tree was planted on August 18, 1966, by Garry Edwards of the 6th Royal Australian Regiment, in memory of those who died in the Battle of Long Tan in Vietnam.
A check found the plaque was missing, with police believing it had been stolen from the gardens.
The Vietnam War memorial plaque was found at the Numurkah tip. It will now be returned to the gardens it is from.
Photo by
Taylah Baker
There were other plaques still at the gardens that looked the same as the one that had been found at the tip.
The Asian bell tree the plaque was in front of is still there, but has died and needs to be replaced.
Mr Dealy said he expected the tree would be replaced by the RSL and the plaque would be returned to the gardens to again be used.
When the origin of the plaque was still a mystery, it was planned to put it on display in the Numurkah RSL.
Now, Mr Dealy said its rightful spot was at the gardens where it came from.
However, he said the plaque would be attached to a rock or something similar so that it could not be stolen again.
Mr Dealy was pleased to have been able to have solved the mystery surrounding it.
“It’s good. At least we know what the circumstances were,” he said.
“I guess it shows you if you put something out there, you never know who’s watching or listening.”
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