Woodend RSL Mural

This is a modified version of the description read for the official commissioning of the mural on ANZAC Day 2026.

Mural Background

Facing east towards Mount Macedon you see a familiar landscape portrayed on the RSL’s western wall. In the background you see the morning sunrays over Mount Macedon, reminiscent of the Rising Sun of the Australian Military Forces badge which is so familiar on the Army’s slouch hat.

Centrally located is the 21m high Mount Macedon Memorial Cross, built in 1935 and dedicated to all Australians who had served in WW1 and later conflicts.

To the right you see the Woodend Clock Tower with the hands at 11am, remembrance hour. This memorial was presented to the town in 1927 by the Woodend RSL, funded by public subscription; a memorial to local men and women who served in the First World War, with plaques later added for those who served in the Second World War.

You see significant flora – in the ground in front a hedge of Gallipoli rosemary, often planted to honour soldiers who fought in the Gallipoli campaign. On the mural:

Acacia, wattle which grows only in Australia and is reminiscent of all things Australian and our national floral emblem.
The autumn leaves of Woodend.
The red poppy, common across the European battlefields, a symbol of remembrance and hope.
The purple poppy, in remembrance of the working animals who supported Australians in all conflicts, especially horses and dogs.

The Royal Australian Air Force aircraft depicted are –

Spitfire fighter aircraft which provided support to ground operations (as well as combatting enemy aircraft) in northern Africa and the defence of Northern Australia.
Iroquois helicopters. They provided invaluable support to ground operations in Vietnam – fire support, troop transport, supply and evacuation.

In the top left corner, there is an image of the charge of Australian Light Horse at Beersheba (fought after the Gallipoli campaign) where Australians, including many Victorians, dislodged Turkish forces and forced their withdrawal from the region. There is a common misperception that the Light Horse were a form of cavalry, but in fact the Light Horse were mounted infantry who usually dismounted prior to engaging with the enemy. At Beersheba, the Turks were waiting for the Light Horse men to dismount and were taken by surprise when they rode through the defences using bayonets as swords.

In the top right-hand corner, you see an image of an Australian desert patrol at Tobruk. In 1941, the Australian 9th Division was besieged at the Libyan port of Tobruk in North Africa. Through tenacious defence against German forces the Rats of Tobruk caused Rommel to check his advance on Egypt. This siege lasted for 231 days when they were relieved by British Forces.

Beneath the plinth of the Memorial Cross are the badges of the RSL and Legacy, a kindred organization long committed to the welfare of families of deceased veterans.

The Service Representatives

Within the mural are nine Woodend women and men who served in different eras from WW1 to the current day. The photos to the right show three of the current members and two family members. Starting from the right hand side of the image, and excusing ranks, are ...

ALAN MITCHELL-LAPPIN (with the headset):

Alan has had a significant service career, in the Military, Police and community.
He served in the Army with 2nd Commando Company, 1st Commando Regiment, based in Williamstown, for 18 years. In 2009/2010 he was deployed with 2nd Commando Company Group to Afghanistan, where he was awarded a Commendation for Gallantry, for his actions '...under intense pressure' described as '... courageous and first class'.
He was a Member of the Australian Federal Police for 17 years from 2004.
After his military service, Alan was a content creator and Master of Ceremonies (MC) for the Mount Macedon Dawn Service for 9 years. He served as Senior Vice President of the Woodend RSL for two years.
As a proud Barkindji man, he has continued the legacy of indigenous soldiers who have served with distinction for our defence forces since before the Boer War. This includes his two great Uncles decorated for distinguished service in World War 1.
Alan and his family have lived in Woodend and Macedon Ranges for 20 years.

FRANCIS DONOVAN, wearing the bush hat synonymous with the Vietnam war.

Frank served as a Medic with the 5th battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment in Vietnam 1965-67.
Originally from WA, Frank founded the Vietnam Veterans Family Association, was co-founder of the Vietnam Veterans Counselling Service (now called Open Arms). He was a Member of Parliament in WA 1987-93.
On moving to Woodend, Frank was President of the Central Highlands Vietnam Veterans Assoc, President of Woodend RSL 2007-08, he led the Mount Macedon ANZAC Dawn Service 2004-15 and was part of the Memorial Cross Reserve Management Committee 2020-24.
Doctor Francis Donovan was awarded an Order of Australia Medal in 2017 for service to Veterans.

STANLEY GOBLE, in the Air Force uniform:

23-year-old Stanley Goble was the Woodend Station-Master and member of St Mary’s congregation in 1914 when he applied to join the Army with his two brothers. Rejected on medical grounds, he took himself to England and joined the Royal Navy Air Force and qualified as a pilot.
He earned a Distinguished Service Cross when engaging two German aircraft above the Flanders battlefield and a Distinguished Service Order for bravery and skill in three separate actions.
He ended the war as an ace pilot, having downed 10 German aircraft. On returning to Australia, he assisted with the creation of the Royal Australian Air Force and served as an Air Vice Marshall in the Second World War.
Stanley was one of two pilots to first circumnavigate Australia.

MARIE MORROW:

Marie enlisted in the Australian Women’s Army Service in 1942, serving at Land Headquarters in Melbourne.
She married Ivan Londish and, with her family, operated a timber and hardware business in Woodend.

Marie’s daughter, Lynne Ingles, told us more about her mother. I am one of 4 children to Marie and Ivan Londish, my elder brother Jeffrey, our late sister Marian, and my younger brother Christopher and I am also representing our whole extended family. My mother joined the Australian Women’s Army Service on 18th August, 1942 in Melbourne and discharged 10th April 1945. LCPL Marie Londish (nee: Morrow), Service number VF345744, AWAS 2nd Echelon L.H.Q. was posted at Medical records at Albert Park Barracks and was enlisted for 970 days. Mum is portrayed in this mural and is the beautiful lady in Army khaki. She would be wondering how she became part of this celebration today in Woodend. She was an intensely private woman but she was incredibly proud of having served in the Australian Women’s Army Service and as she aged through the years she still attended all the reunions. I cannot speak of Mum without talking about Dad too. Our Dad was FLTSGT A.G. Ivan Joseph Londish RAAF. 11th Squadron Catalinas, 5th Airforce Liberators. 1940 -1945 Air Gunner/Fitter and Armourer and served in several theatres and the Pacific. They moved to Woodend in 1947 and after a few home building projects they finally purchased ‘Benvenuto’ that was on the road then named Braemar Road and they subsequently started a business called ‘Braemar Timber & Hardware’ and also built and started a sawmill on the corner of the now Mt Macedon Road and Boundary Road for over 11 years. It was one among many and not for the faint hearted. It was a hard slog. With Dad’s prowess for engineering, he designed and made all the machinery in the mill. Life certainly had its challenges with small family and business but our mum showed her ability to handle many of life’s testing times. She not only helped to run the everyday bookwork for the business, she became President of the Woodend State School Mother’s Club for many years and was on the committee which built the first Kindergarten in Woodend, played tennis and assisted others in the community on many local projects. She was always sewing little articles for the Fetes that were held in the main street outside the Newsagency, and she was the school bus driver in a Willy’s Jeep on wintery cold snowy days and collected friends’ children on the way down Braemar Road. She really did show her ability to handle some very ‘bigger than life’ problems with their sawmill business in that she could drive anything that was there to drive. My dad often went to the Tottenham Army surplus auctions as new equipment came at a cost, so Mum and Dad had to improvise. He had faith in this woman he loved and she did not disappoint. On the mill block we had old Blitz truck with a crane, timber jinkers, trucks and added to the fleet came one day – unbeknownst to Mum – two Army scout cars and a Bren gun Carrier. All decommissioned, I have to say. The scout cars were brilliant in the Winter when the timber jinkers would arrive laden with logs and they could move them around in the mud, snow and frost to be rolled down the skids to the waiting saw benches. But, be mindful, Mum drove them too. She drove everything but that Bren gun carrier. Her history of driving was renowned. She drove left-handed jeeps with no windows and doors and used my elder brother Jeff to do the hand signals on the way to school. She drove the Blitz crane and also managed to tow Dad who was in the truck bogged with his load off the side of the mount. She went out to the ‘Wombat’ with meals for the loggers and did the arithmetic on the haul for the day so Dad would know what his return would be. And as the logs came in she measured and marked and listed the lengths and amount of timber to be cut. I still have her books that she filled in every day. She was a key figure in the business. At night when we were tucked in bed, both Mum and Dad would venture over to the mill in overalls and clear the sawdust and make all the machines ready for the next day’s loads. Not an easy gig and they employed many locals from the township and Dad taught many a skill to young fellows working for them. A bit more to Mum’s history as a driver came in the main street outside the newsagency when she had collected us from school one day – the local Constabulary came up and had a chat to Mum in which he inquired did she have a license??? Mmm! not really, so he just told her to pop around to the Police station and he could fix that up. So! Marie was then a licensed driver finally and she still held her license till she passed away. Life wasn’t all about the Sawmill. They lived in Woodend after it closed but they started to trade in agricultural machinery. They still were a big part of the community and having friends who also were WWII enlisted – and understood the challenges that getting back to a ‘normal’ life they had left to go to war – was very important. Community helped each other as some were war weary and broken but hid it in ways so that their lives went on in a silence only they understood. They kept those friends all their lives. In summing up... Our mum Marie Londish was a wonderful addition to this community in the 1940’s onwards. Both parents contributed to this place with enthusiasm, knowledge, assistance and friendship. She really did give to this community as did Dad. They were worthy residents and cared for their family, community and most of all each other. Thank you on behalf of our family and Woodend RSL and committee for this wonderful honour you have bestowed upon her. They both rest now together still in Woodend Cemetery. Thank you everyone.

Jim’s son, Bill Daniel, provided this background about his father. I grew up in Woodend in the 1950's and 60's. I would like to say how proud my dad Jim Daniel would be to see his image on the mural today. I am the youngest of Jim and our mother Joyce's three sons. I also speak on behalf of my oldest brother Alan who couldn't attend today, as well as acknowledging my middle brother Peter who passed away in 2011. I know he'd be delighted with the mural. Members of the Daniel family have-had a long association with Woodend. The family, including my great grandparents Frank & Kate Daniel, settled in Woodend way back in the 1850's. Frank's older brother John was here too. He was an engineer and designed the bluestone St Mary's Anglican Church opposite the cemetery and in 1862 designed the bluestone bridge over the Five Mile Creek. Has anyone noticed the word WOODEND on the bridge? One of John's quirks was to write the letter ‘N’ back to front. John also worked as an engineer on the construction of the railway line to Bendigo. My great grandparents Frank & Kate raised 10 children in Woodend. One was my grandfather Ted. My Dad Jim was Ted and my grandma Edie's second son. The family was very community minded. Grandpa Ted was president of the Race Club for 30 consecutive years. Grandma Edie was part of the Keating family (a different family to the Real Estate Keatings). She assisted her mother Fanny & brother Tas in running Keating's Hotel (now Holgate Brewery) which they owned for nearly 50 years until 1945. The hotel hosted many community and fund-raising events over the years. I'll also mention the Memorial Band Rotunda near the bowling green. That was erected in 1927 to honour my grandma's brother J C Keating. He was credited with raising the Woodend & Hanging Rock race clubs from relative obscurity to one of the most successful in the state. He was also prominent in much of Woodend life & was always eager to help those in need. My dad Jim was born in 1912 and was educated at St Ambrose Primary School and then at Kyneton High. He had a real love of horses which led him as a young man to join the 17th Light Horse Regiment in Bendigo. As a member of this regiment, he had the distinction of being chosen to be part of the mounted escort to the King's son, the Duke of Gloucester, at the official opening of the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne on 11th November 1934 in front of a massive 300,000 people. It was a huge privilege and an unforgettable day for him. After the outbreak of World War 2 Jim volunteered, along with his cousin, in July 1940 and joined the 2/11th Australian Army Field Regiment. This Regiment of 1,500 members was an Artillery Unit and all were amateur soldiers with no professional or regular soldiers serving. Jim saw action as a gunner in Syria in the Middle East in 1941 then on his return served in Darwin from 1943. He was discharged in 1944 to assist his brother Ed carry on the family grocery business Daniel & Keating following his father’s illness. Jim had many community interests. Over the years he served as a Committeeman of the Hanging Rock Race Club, was Treasurer of the Woodend Bowling Club and the Woodend branch of the Australian Natives' Association, President of the Woodend Parks & Gardens Committee, Secretary of the Woodend Citizens' Development Association, a member of the 1st Woodend Scout Committee, an Honorary Steward with the Woodend Racing Cub and a member of the Kyneton/Woodend group of Bendigo Legacy. He was also a very keen & active member of the Woodend RSL for about 30 years. He was Secretary from 1945 to 1947 and President from 1953 to 1955 plus Treasurer for many years. In the earlier years Jim and other members were involved in many fund-raising activities to build this hall which was officially opened in 1955. In 1972 Jim was honoured by being elected as the first life member of the Woodend RSL. Due to failing health Jim left Woodend in 1975 to reside in Frankston near family members and passed away suddenly in 1977. So on behalf of the Daniel family I'd like to thank everyone involved in creating this mural in memory of past servicemen and women. It means a lot to our family. Thanks everyone.

ALFRED TATE, the sailor:

Enlisted in the Royal Australian Navy in 1942 and served on numerous ships in the defence of the northern approaches to Australia.
He returned to a dairy farm at Hesket.

JAMES DANIEL, to the left of the Memorial Cross:

Jim enlisted in the Artillery Corps in 1940 and served in Palestine during the advance into Syria.
He returned to run Daniel’s Grocery Store in Woodend.
The Daniel family have a long connection with the Woodend area, refer to the account provided by Jim's son Bill.

Coincidentally, Bill and Lynne Ingles, who provided Marie Morrow’s background, were in the same class at school in Woodend. Jim Daniel’s Life Membership certificate is in our museum.

SYDNEY JOHNSON in the slouch hat:

Syd grew up on a local farm in and was Woodend’s first Scout Master.
He enlisted in 1915 and served in the Field Ambulance on the Somme. He would often send back letters of his experiences, and some were published in the Woodend Star.
An excerpt from one of his letters is shown on the mural – ‘I think I have learned much in this great experience and I know I have learned to appreciate Woodend”.
Syd was one of 12 men who founded the Victorian Farmers Union, which eventually became the National Party.

ELLEN (NELLIE) HORAN, the nurse:

Nellie trained at Kyneton Hospital and in 1916 joined the Australian Medical Corps British Indian Service and was one of the first Australian nursing sisters to be posted overseas (to Bombay).
During the war, 500 Australian nurses were posted to India to serve in British hospitals caring for hundreds of Turkish prisoners of war and wounded British troops, often in oppressive heat and through smallpox and cholera epidemics (such that no English nurses were engaged in this theatre).

JOHN McCAUSLAND, wearing the distinctive powder-blue UN beret:

A graduate of the Royal Military College and the Indian Defence Services Staff College, John served in the Regular Army for 22 years during which he served as a United Nations military observer with UN peacekeeping operations in India/Pakistan, Israel/Syria and Israel/Egypt in 1974-75.
Australia has contributed to peacekeeping and peace support missions for over 75 years serving under the United Nations and regional coalitions, notably in Korea, Cyprus, Cambodia, Somalia, Rwanda, Sudan and Timor.
John subsequently served as a business manager in the independent school sector in Victoria, Western Australia and the UK.
John has lived in the Macedon Ranges for the past 15 years. He was President of the Woodend RSL between 2022-2025 and is our MC today. He continues to serve the community in a number of organisations including the RSL.

That concludes the description of the mural. The Woodend RSL Sub-Branch hopes you appreciate the local connections that are included, and the tradition of service that it represents.

2026ANZACDayWoodendMarch-TiesUriePhotography2026-04-25-01621.jpg

Lynne Ingles in front of her mother Marie Morrow

Woodend RSL Mural

Mural Background

The Service Representatives

​