‘Before it is lost’: Dumbleyung history book compiles stories of 425 servicemen and women from region

In the heart of the Wheatbelt is a passionate town with a rich history. And within it are a group of determined women volunteering countless hours to put it on paper “before it is lost”. The salt lake-surrounded community of Dumbleyung is no stranger to the limelight, playing host to Donald Campbell’s famous 1964 New Year’s Eve world water speed record. In his hydroplane Bluebird, he travelled across Lake Dumbleyung at an eye-watering 441km/h, enthralling a crowd of thousands watching from the lake’s edges. It was a well documented day, with the town unveiling a Bluebird replica in Campbell’s honour on the 50th anniversary. There are many other stories integral to the farming community’s past, including many wartime connections, with four women committing every spare hour they have to uncovering and telling them. Their latest quest is to track down the families of servicemen and women, from the Boer War to the present day, and publish a book honouring their memories. Gazetted in 1907, many living in the Wheatbelt community went to fight in World War I in 1914, and again in World War II in 1939. When soldiers returned, they were allocated farmland across the State by the Government, with soldiers from all over the country settling in farming communities. They cleared the land, ploughed the soil, had families, and became part of the lifeblood of WA farming history. While there are little more than 600 people living in Dumbleyung today, there are thousands of stories to tell. Initially putting feelers out more than three years ago, Jill Clarke said the group were “overwhelmed” by the amount of people getting in touch. From call-outs in The West Australian and on social media, to word of mouth and the town’s local newsletter, The Quack Chat, they very quickly accumulated hundreds of stories. “We’ve collected 425-odd stories now,” Mrs Clarke said. They date from the Boer War at the turn of the 19th century, all the way through to people still in active service and the Army Reserves today. “Everyone has a 1000-word limit with one photo,” Mrs Clarke said. “And it’s often written by a family member.” “It’s about where they are born, where they went to school, their service history, and what they did when they came home.” The foursome are now busy undertaking the second proofread, before it is formatted and sent to printers. “Hopefully it is ready to print next year,” Mrs Clarke said. “Some of the ladies are hoping by Anzac Day, but we’ll see how we go.” The stories range from happy, sad and remarkable, from prisoners of war, to tributes to those killed in action and families which had several generations serve. The local Wallis family was one of just six in Australia which had three generations serve in four successive wars, while other local families had as many as eight sons who served. Private Chris F Kealley — who served in WWII and was a prisoner of war in Germany for four years after the battalion was captured in Crete — is featured, who upon his return Mrs Clarke said was “instrumental” in building the Dumbleyung War Memorial. It is a topic close to Mrs Clarke’s heart, with her father Ed flying in Bomber Command in World War II. Growing up on a farm in Moulyinning — 30km north east of Dumbleyung — Mr Clarke enlisted in the RAAF in 1942 as an 18-year-old, where he wad then based at Kelstern Lincolnshire with the 625 Squadron, flying a Lancaster CF-D2. “One amazing fact for me (was) his plane and crew was just one plane among waves of often up to and 1000 aircraft,” Mrs Clarke said. “One mission consisted of 750 Lancasters, 293 Halifaxes and 36 Mosquitoes taking off in waves from different airfields. The enormous numbers of aircraft formed “an eight miles long by five miles wide bomber stream.” Figures that take some time to get your head around.” As co-ordinator of the book, Mrs Clarke emphasised the importance of uncovering and writing down these stories before they were lost to time. “We wanted to do it before the generations are gone and it’s forgotten,” Mrs Clarke said. “Collecting these stories has reminded me of the courage that was required by all the young men and women who put their lives on the line for service to our country. “The stories are a reminder that the ripples of war spread far and wide, continue long after a conflict, and often felt by the generations that follow. “It was such a significant part of our history because so many people used to live here and now they’ve only got 600 in the shire. So it’s amazing to think that all these people lived here.” It is not the first book to be published by the community, with two books in the town’s museum published in the 1990s showcasing the town’s proud agricultural and sporting connections. Mrs Clarke said it was “incredibly important” to record the history of WA so the stories woven into the fabric of regional WA were remembered for generations to come.