Special connections

By Andrew Mole

Jul 2, 2024

Matilda Sowter, wearing her grandfather’s medals, is pictured with her sponsor, Greg Ryan from the Kyabram Club, and Peter Walsh. Photo by Contributed

Conquering the Kokoda Trail this week is now a personal journey – almost pilgrimage – for Year 11 student Matilda Sowter.

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The Kyabram P-12 student, sponsored by Kyabram Club to make the trip, has been matched with Corporal Stan Snow, a 28-year-old from Shropshire, England, who had emigrated to Australia and lived between Kyabram and Rochester. He had taken a job as a barman at the Victoria Hotel in Rochester when he enlisted.

Matilda, whose grandfather was in the military during the war, says Corporal Snow’s story is “incredibly tragic” because he was killed in a massive accident.

“Stan had served in Palestine and the Middle East before his battalion was recalled and sent to New Guinea,” she explained.

“On September 7, while the battalion's personnel were waiting to fly out to Nadzab, a fully-laden US B24 bomber crashed into trucks carrying the soldiers – killing 60 and injuring another 92, including Stan.

Corporal Stan Snow had emigrated to Australia from England, enlisted, fought in the Middle East and Palestine and was redeployed to the Pacific campaign where he was tragically killed in an accidental explosion. Photo by Contributed

“He sustained extensive and severe second and third degree burns from which he would not recover. While the rest of the battalion flew out the next day and took part in the capture of Lae, Stan remained in the hospital where he died of his injuries four days later, at the age of 32.

“This accident was the 2/33 rd’s greatest loss of life for the entire war, so being able to visit his grave in Bomona War Cemetery will help ensure his sacrifice is not forgotten and I feel very humble to have that opportunity.”

The Nationals leader and Member for Murray Plains Peter Walsh, who has organised the visit by five students from his electorate as recipients of Colin Sinclair Scholarships, says each student has been given a gravesite to visit at Bomona.

Mr Walsh describes the visits as an integral part of the scholarship program as it will make the trip a “uniquely personal journey for each of them”.

He says it was his “privilege and honour” to visit the grave of Colin Sinclair himself, the man for whom his scholarship program has been named.

“I was able to deliver pictures of the gravesite to Colin’s family, who still live in Rochester, where he came from, today,” Mr Walsh said.

“For me that incredibly private moment made me more determined to encourage and enable more young people to see and to experience what I did, I genuinely believe it will be one of the experiences of their lives.

“I know it had a profound impact on me.”

Mr Walsh says he wants the teenagers to be excited about the whole trip, to be looking forward to going overseas, and to the things they will see and do there.

But at the same time, he says “we want to make sure they understand why we are going there at all”.

“We are going to honour the memory of the many, too many, young Australians who went there, died there and are still there, that is why we are running these scholarships,” he says.

“These young men made the ultimate sacrifice to protect the freedom we have come to expect.