Gavan Thomson

An unusual ceremony took place on Saturday, November 28 at Koondrook Cemetery when the seven grandchildren of the late Herbert (Bert) Eardley Thomson unveiled a memorial plaque in his honour. 

Bert died in 1951 but sadly, the site of his grave was lost in bizarre circumstances. In the 1960s, a member of the cemetery trust apparently left town with six years of the burial records from the 1950s. He is believed to have later destroyed them. Such a callous act meant that the grave of Bert, along with others left unmarked from those six years, could not be precisely located, so no headstone could be raised. For Bert's family, such a wrong has now been righted 71 years later.

Alan Millar, chair of the cemetery trust, who, as a boy, knew Bert, officiated. Alan had been instrumental in the building of the new memorial wall near the cemetery entrance now graced by Bert's plaque. Other plaques may well follow.

Bert was born in Melbourne in 1888 and came to Koondrook from Myall in the 1910s with his wife Ethel (nee Dunham). He built their home ‘Tecoma’ at 57 Main Street and there, they raised two children, Dorothy (Donovan) and Maxwell, while Bert worked for the Water Commission as a water bailiff. He was a local identity involved in many of the town's good works, particularly the Koondrook Football Club, where he was the president for many years.

His grandchildren, Dallas, Gavan, Michael, Russell, Roger and Elizabeth Thomson, together with Sally Kew (nee Donovan), travelled from across Victoria and the Riverina for the event. Later, they visited Bert and Ethel's home ‘Tecoma’ and were delighted to meet the new owner, Mark, and share the history of the family home. It is now one of the oldest remaining dwellings in the town dating from around 1918. After being derelict for many years, the family was very pleased to see that the house is now being lovingly restored.