An intimate and moving ceremony marked the unveiling of a memorial to honour two long forgotten Battle of Waterloo veterans at the Castlemaine Cemetery on Saturday.
Former Kyneton resident William Halliday and local resident Henry Stewart’s military service had gone unrecognised for almost 150 years, and the memorial designed by Castlemaine resident Tom Taft featuring the ‘Waterloo Medal’ awarded to both men, aims to provide the recognition and respect the two soldiers deserve.
Against all odds both men survived the Battle of Waterloo then immigrated to Australia, both living to a ripe old age, spending their final years being cared for at the Castlemaine Benevolent Home (now Dhelkaya Health).
The two soldiers were buried in public graves at the Castlemaine Cemetery and were not afforded a military funeral.
William Halliday died on July 13, 1878 aged 85 and Henry Stewart lived to the age of 105 and died on November 8, 1881.
Castlemaine resident and history buff, Tom Taft, had for many years sought to see the two soldiers recognised after spotting a story about their unmarked graves in our sister paper the Midland Express in 2019.
Tom took up the mantle from local veteran Len Peeler, who began the research into the two men, and Tom has worked hard to see the project to its conclusion.
When Tom approached Castlemaine Cemetery Trust chairperson Debra Tranter in May this year and explained his vision to install a memorial for the two men, he immediately gained the Trust’s full support.
Those in attendance Saturday enjoyed a moving service overseen by MC Danni Moore which shed some light on the incredible service of the two men in the Peninsular War (1807-1814) and at the Battle of Waterloo (1815) and an extract from our former sister paper the Kyneton Guardian about senior resident and war veteran William Halliday.
There were also renditions of ‘Danny Boy’, ‘Amazing Grace’, a tribute by bagpiper Bob Cummings and a reading of the poem ‘Immortality’.
Among those to attend the special memorial service was William Halliday’s great, great, great grand daughter Barbara Reid.
Ms Reid thanked Mr Taft for his efforts to honour her great, great, great grandfather.
Ms Reid was able to provide a little more insight into his extraordinary life.
After the war Halliday immigrated to Australia as part of a prison guard program and was initially stationed in New South Wales and later in Van Diemen’s Land (Tasmania) under the promise of land at the end of his tenure.
“He was given land on the Tamar River in Tasmania but it was not suitable for farming and is still undeveloped today,” Barbara said.
“I am a descendent of his first wife Martha and their daughter Mary,” Barbara said.
After the death of his first wife he remarried and relocated to Victoria leaving his newly married daughter Mary, 12, and her siblings behind in Tasmania.
He later married a third time and eventually settled in Kyneton.
Tom Taft’s 87 year old brother, Joe Taft also made the trip to Castlemaine from Perth for the special event.
Joe served in the same unit as William Halliday and donned the unit’s traditional ‘green jacket’ for the ceremony.