Departure of the first Victorian convoy, 1914

Infantry boarding the Hororata  at Prince's Pier, October 1914.

Tomorrow, 19 October 2014, is the centenary of the day that the first troops from Essendon and Flemington of the 6th and 7th Battalions departed Port Melbourne  on the Hororata to join the first convoy assembling in Albany, WA.    It was one of 17 troop ships that left Victoria in october 1914.

A commemoration will be held tomorrow at Prince's Pier.  You can see the program, which commences at 4 pm,  at the Anzac Commemoration website.

Alex Galland of Ascot Vale

The First AIF boarding HMAT Hororata at Port Melbourne, October 1914

Alex Galland of Bank Street, Ascot Vale, would have been amongst the men boarding the Hororata in October 1914.  He left Australia as a private with the 7th Infantry Battalion, survived the landings at Gallipoli, and the battle of Krithia.  Later in France he was promoted to Temporary Sergeant.  Rod Martin tells the story of his battles in France.