Vicki Dunne MLA

Speaker for the Legislative Assembly for the ACT

 

MEDIA RELEASE

31 March 2015

 

HONOURING THE BATTLES OF VILLERS-BRETONNEUX

The ACT Legislative Assembly has officially received a painting, on loan from the Australian War Memorial, by acclaimed Australian war artist, Will Longstaff, Speaker of the Assembly, Mrs Vicki Dunne MLA, said today.

"The painting, Villers-Bretonneux, ruins of the church, created a poignant reminder of the aftermath of battle." Mrs Dunne said.

"The World War I battles of Villers-Bretonneux, in France, in April 1918, culminated in Australian and British troops retaking the village on April 25-26, just two days after German forces had captured it in one of the biggest tank battles of the war. The victory halted a planned attack by the Germans on the city of Amiens. Success in that plan would have seriously restricted the ability of the Allied forces to move troops and supplies along the western front.

"The victory also forged a special bond of friendship between Australia, Britain and France and particularly the people of Villers-Bretonneux, the strength of which endures almost a century later.

"Whilst the Longstaff work is a sobering and stark reminder of the horrors of war, it also is representative of the bonds that exist between our three countries," Mrs Dunne said. "I am very pleased to welcome the painting to the Assembly."

"I am delighted the War Memorial offered to lend this important work to the Assembly," Mrs Dunne said. "It enables the Assembly to be engaged in the centenary of the Great War in a very special way."

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