AFTER the Legacy flame was lit, at an official ceremony for the Legacy Centenary Torch Relay, at the Pozières British Cemetery on Sunday, April 23 and received the blessing of King Charles III in London last Friday, April 28, it has touched down in Australia.
It will spend its first day in Australia, at Albany in WA, on Wednesday, May 3, and is not due to get to Victoria until September.
But the question needs to be asked – why isn’t the torch visiting Korumburra?
Founder of Legacy, Lieutenant General Sir Stanley George Savige, KBE, CB, DSO, MC, ED, spent the first 17 years of his life in Korumburra, including attending the Korumburra Primary School until the age of 12.
And although he was born at Morwell on June 26, 1890 (because a hospital hadn’t yet been opened here), he is literally ‘born and bred’ a Korumburra person.
So why is Sale the only place in Gippsland where the Legacy Torch will stop, on Thursday, September 28 before potentially doing a lap of the MCG on Grand Final Day, Saturday, September 23.
It was exactly the question asked by members of the Korumburra RSL quite some time ago.
Stan's portrait has graced the walls of the Korumburra RSL Hall for many years and his name is still remembered and revered at the Korumburra Primary School.
“I think we probably asked the question (about coming to Korumburra) after they’d set the itinerary but certainly, Korumburra had a big role to play in the establishment of Legacy,” said local military historian Tony Moon.
“Stan Savige did all his schooling here and he also put on his first uniform here as well,” said Tony.
“It’s something we can all be proud about as Legacy celebrates 100 years of supporting veterans’ families.”
But at least Stan’s role will not be forgotten in Korumburra.
The local Legacy committee will be dedicating a new plaque in his honour at the ‘Stan Savige’ gates at Coleman Park, where the cenotaph is located, in September/October this yar (date to be confirmed).
Several local people will travel across to the Latrobe Valley to see the torch in September, including local Legacy widows Aviz Tilley and Mary Field.
Early years
Stanley Savige was born on June 26, 1890, in Morwell, Victoria, the eldest of eight children to Samuel Savige, a butcher, and his wife Ann Nora, née Walmsley.
Stan Savige left Korumburra State School at the age of 12 to work as a blacksmith's striker. While at Korumburra, he enlisted in the school junior cadets as a bugler.
The family moved to Prahran in 1907, where Savige worked at a variety of jobs and served in the Prahran senior cadets for 18 months, from 1907 to 1909. Savige was an active member of the South Yarra Baptist Church, where he was a Sunday school teacher. Through his church activities, Savige met and became engaged to Lilian Stockton in 1914, marrying her after the World War 1 in 1919.
Lieutenant General Sir Stanley George Savige (June 26, 1890 – May 15, 1954) served in the army in the First World War and Second World War.
In March 1915, after the outbreak of the First World War, Savige enlisted in the First Australian Imperial Force. He served in the ranks during the Gallipoli Campaign, and received a commission. He later served on the Western Front, where he was twice recommended for the Military Cross for bravery.
In 1918, he joined Dunsterforce and served in the Caucasus Campaign, during which he was instrumental in protecting thousands of Assyrian refugees.
He also served with distinction in World War 2 rising to the rank of of lieutenant general.
He also had a highly successful career in business and banking.
But it all started right here in Korumburra.
Some details taken from Wikipediahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley_Savige
