Wagga commemorates National Day for War Animals

Locals gathered to commemorate the National Day for War Animals, which remembers every animal from the famed light horse brigade to vital carrier pigeons.

Famously, only one of the 136,000 Australian horses sent to World War One returned alive.

Organiser and local veteran John Ploenges said the commemoration was started in 2019 and adopted in Wagga soon after.

"I was surprised at the amount and type of animals that were involved - it wasn't just horses," Mr Ploenges said.

Cats were used for rodent control, budgies as gas detectors and even glowworms as makeshift lights for darkened trenches.

Camels and donkeys were also a crucial part of Australia's war efforts.

The day also helped shine a light on continued efforts to erect a statue in Victory Memorial Gardens honouring the 4^th light horse brigade.

"We're still looking for donations and grants," Mr Ploenges said.

"We've probably got enough to finish the statue but there's all the incidentals."

Riders from the Riverina Light Brigade were in attendance.

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A spot has already been picked out for the statue, which is expected to be erected in September.

Riverina MP Michael McCormack gave the event's keynote address.

"So many Riverina horses were actually sent to the front and none of them came back," Mr McCormack said.

"It's not just about the many, many names on the Victory Memorial arch or the cenotaph, it's also our four-legged fury friends, our flying friends - they also played their part in winning the wars, keeping us free."

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