Westralia Gift Book
- View Giftbook
- PDF document – 11 pages – 1.5MB
- To view the Gift Book, you will need Adobe Reader
The Westralia Gift Book was first produced in 1916 in Perth, Western Australia, and sold in aid of the YMCA’s military work and the Returned Nurses’ Fund. Various artists and writers from that state produced stories, verses, drawings and articles, at no cost, for the publication. A preface was written by one of WA’s most famous academics, Walter (Later Sir Walter) Murdoch in which he stated:
But if I am not grossly mistaken, there are things in this volume good enough to convince everyone-except those whose unalterable conviction it is that no good thing can come out of Western Australia-that we have our share of creative talent, which lacks only encouragement and a field for its exercise.
Lieutenant Hugo Throssell VC, who had been invalided home to Northam, WA, from England, was asked to contribute an article to the Gift Book outlining his time with the 10th Light Horse Regiment on Gallipoli in 1915 and especially the incident on 29 August 1915 for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross. It is a valuable piece because it provides one of the most detailed personal accounts from an Australian VC recipient at Gallipoli of the events surrounding the achievement of the award. Copies of the Gift Book can be found in the National Library of Australia and in all Australian State library collections.