Different careers of Will and Harry

AMONG Geelong’s various memorials to soldiers and others who have fallen in the wars fought by our nation is the Boer War Memorial near the northwestern entrance to Kardinia Park.

The Boer War between forces of the British Empire and those of the South African republics of the Transvaal and the Orange Free State was fought between 1899 and 1902.

More than 16,000 Australians, and a similar number of their horses, took part in the war, which was won by the British Empire forces at a price.

Geelong was quick to recognise those who fell, and the memorial containing four names was unveiled on December 20, 1902, the year the war ended.

Since that time, a brass plaque containing a further eight names of soldiers mainly from outlying areas in Geelong and district has been added to the memorial. The nature of the fighting meant most of the men were horsemen.

The Geelong Family History Group, in the latest edition of its quarterly magazine The Pivot Tree, ran an article by Marg Frewin containing some background information on each of the 12 men named on the memorial.

One name that stood out was that of Lance Sergeant William Lasseter, who had been born at Meredith in 1873.

It is possible William Lasseter enlisted in the armed forces in Sydney, having served with the NSW Bushmen’s Contingent in South Africa. It turns out he was the brother of Harry Lasseter, who shot to fame in the 1920s when he claimed to have found a large gold deposit in Central Australia.

Lasseter’s Reef was to become something of a mystery, with some claiming he had invented the story.

Harry Lasseter had been born in 1880 at Bamganie, which is to the southwest of Meredith, to William Lasseter and Agnes (nee Cruickshank), who were also the parents of Sgt William Lasseter.

Harry Lasseter died near the Western AustraliaNorthern Territory border in early 1931 after he became separated from an expedition mounted to relocate the gold reef.

A bushman named Bob Buck mounted a search and located Lasseter’s body in March 1931. He was later buried at Alice Springs.

The Boer War is also remembered in Geelong with the naming of Transvaal Square on the waterfront. The memorial is no longer part of Kardinia Park, separated from the park by Kilgour St, diverted to link with Noble St. Contact: peterjohnbegg@gmail.com

The unveiling of Geelong’s Boer War Memorial at Kardinia Park in December 1902 and, above, Harry Lasseter.

Above: William Lasseter’s Bushmen’s Contingent leaves Sydney for South Africa. Left: A colourised postcard of the northwest entrance to Kardinia Park with the war memorial in the background.