In World War I, men voluntarily enlisted in the armed forces from 1701 places in New South Wales. Many of them never set foot on their home soil again.
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A huge project was undertaken in 2017 in preparation for last Sunday, the 100th anniversary of the armistice.
A soil sample was to be taken from every one of those 1701 places in the state and two local surveyors, Jeff Brown and Steve Hogan, took on the task.
They collected samples from twelve locations in the Yass Valley. Mr Brown is the ACT Surveyor-General and said the experience really brought the meaning of what they were doing home for him.
He said some of the locations they were sent to were villages or properties that don’t exist anymore.
All of those 1701 soil samples are now on display in the new Hall of Service in Sydney.
Brown attended the Sydney service at the War Memorial by special invitation last Sunday and got to see all of the final samples.
“The wall looks fantastic because they’re all so different. Even looking at the 12 from the Yass shire, every sample was different in colour and texture.”
