The Victoria Cross Estate

We have developed a Heritage Walk around this Estate go to –

https://walkingmaps.com.au/walk/4589

South of Cherry Street, near the Macleod station, is an interesting housing estate which was sub-divided in 1922. All the streets were named in honour of Australian Victoria Cross recipients. These soldiers were: Captain Percy Cherry, Lieutenant William Dunstan, Sergeant John Dwyer, Lieutenant Robert Grieve, Captain Albert Jacka, Lieutenant Colonel William Joynt, Private Ted Kenna, Air Vice-Marshal Frank McNamara and Second Lieutenant Rusty Ruthven.

All these men have their own interesting stories. One example is Air Vice-Marshall Frank McNamara who was born in Rushworth, near Shepparton in central Victoria and was the first and only Air Force pilot to be awarded a Victoria Cross in WWI. Frank McNamara rescued a crashed pilot near Gaza in 1917, having sustained a leg injury from shrapnel himself. He became one of the RAAF’s original officers when the RAAF was established in Australia in 1921.

Left to right Standing: MR W.D. Joynt VC, Squadron Leader F.H McNamara VC RAAF, Mr J. Rogers VC, Lieutenant G.M. Ingram VC, Mr W. Peeler VC, Mr L.D. McCarthy VC, Croix De Guerre, Mr R.V. Moon VC

Front row: Mr Albert Jacka VC MC, Sir neville Smyth VC, Lord Sommers, Governor of Victoria; Lord Stonehaven, Governor General; Mr W Ruthven VC, Mr Issy Smith VC, Formerly 1st Battalion, The Manchester Regiment.

View further details about these men at : https://www.montparktospringthorpe.com/men-remembered-in-the-street-names-in-the-victoria-cross-estate/

AND enjoy the historic Walk at: https://walkingmaps.com.au/walk/4589

 

Story by Kathy Andrewartha
2018

REFERENCES:

Fine Spirit and Pluck. World War One Stories of Banyule, Nillumbik and Whittlesea (2016) Yarra Plenty Regional Library. South Morang.

‘The Senior’ Newspaper article, April 2017 p.1