Lake Macquarie History

Lake Macquarie and her WWI enlisted men

Lake Macquarie, like many places around Australia, felt the impact of war. After war was declared on Germany in August 1914, many men answered the call to enlist. Over 1000 names have been gathered from the service records of soldiers who had some association with Lake Macquarie, whether by birth, enlistment, residence or next of kin. Of those names, 167 men paid the ultimate price. The average age of those who died was 25 years 8 months; the youngest just 18 and the oldest 47.

photo: todd gallipoli images

For those who returned, life had dramatically changed. Many came back injured, some permanently disabled, all forever altered by the horrors of the conflict.

A list has been compiled, with links to their service records, as found on the National Australian Archives project, Mapping Our Anzacs. Clicking on the enlisted man's surname will take you to their service record via the Mapping Our Anzacs website. The list has been compiled from the following sources:

Mapping Our Anzacs Project (now Discovering Anzacs) http://discoveringanzacs.naa.gov.au/home/

AIF Project https://www.aif.adfa.edu.au/index.html

National Archives of Australia http://www.naa.gov.au/

NSW War Memorial Register http://www.warmemorialsregister.nsw.gov.au/

Commonwealth War Graves Commision http://www.cwgc.org/

Australian War Memorial http://www.awm.gov.au/

War Memorials of Newcastle and Lake Macquarie, New South Wales (1994). Newcastle Family History Society Inc., Adamstown, New South Wales

Hunter Valley diggers of World War One 1914-1918 (2001) researched and compiled by David H. Dial [electronic resource]

Dial, David H.(2001) Coal miner diggers : Hunter Valley coal miners at the Great War, Wallsend, NSW.

While research has been extensive, it is acknowledged that it may well be incomplete. If you have a relative who served during WWI, and

      • was born in Lake Macquarie, OR
      • enlisted in Lake Macquarie OR
      • had next of kin listed as living in Lake Macquarie at the time of enlistment

and is not on this list, please use the form to the right to alert us and after confirmation of details, the soldier's name shall be added.

Acknowledgement of Country

We remember and respect the Ancestors who cared for and nurtured this Country. It is in their footsteps that we travel these lands and waters. Lake Macquarie City Council acknowledges the Awabakal people and Elders past, present and future.

Council acknowledges traditional custodians throughout Australia. We commit to listening deeply to and collaborating with First Peoples in our work.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that this website and Council's cultural collections may contain images, voices or names of deceased persons in photographs, film, audio recordings or printed material.

This website may contain place names, opinions and terms that reflect authors' views or those of the period in which the item was written or recorded. These may not be considered appropriate today.

If you experience any issues with the website or its content please contact us [email protected]