The Collector and District Historical Association has published a commemorative Anzac book featuring profiles, photographs and a foreword by Federal Member for Hume Angus Taylor. 

The book titled ‘Collector Anzacs: A tribute to our town and district’s contribution to World War 1’, will be the first local publication to profile soldiers from the Collector area.

Local residents, including students at Collector Public School, contributed to the research for the book which features the names of more than 40 men who served in the Great War.

President Ann Hegyi said she had to search through the phone book to locate relatives of the soldiers.

The book details the story of brothers Alfred and Joshua Noble who both enlisted in the 55^th Battalion in 1916 only to be killed in action within a year of each other.

Mr Taylor said that many new stories have been triggered by the Anzac commemorations. ‘I have only just discovered that my great uncle, who was killed in the Great War in France, was shot while passing his binoculars across to a friend. I was given those binoculars many years ago but never knew that story until recently.’

Association Vice President Frank Ross said the Anzac Centenary commemorations have ‘helped to rebind the community of Collector’.

Mr Taylor said the Federal Government had provided $3,000 in funding to the Association as part of the Anzac Centenary Local Grants Programme. The grant money was used to publish the book, as well as refurbish the village cenotaph.

To purchase a copy of the book, or other memorabilia produced by the Collector and District Historical Association, please contact President Ann Hegyi on 0423 206 421.

Caption: Angus Taylor out the front of his Goulburn electorate office viewing the book with Frank Ross and Ann Hegyi