Friends of Manuka Pool was awarded a Commonwealth Grant by the Department of Veteran’s Affairs to have the honour roll professionally restored to rekindle the memory of the nine young men.  

As part of our campaign to revive the memory of the sacrifice of the nine men, Friends of Manuka Pool also commissioned two local historians to prepare a booklet containing brief biographies of those named on the plaque and, at the same time, tell some of the story of the role of Manuka Pool in Canberra’s early history.

The swimmers’ lives tell the story of early Canberra and span the course of the war. Four were the sons of heads of Commonwealth departments; one was the son of the tiler who in 1930 laid the tiles that still line the pool today.

 Five began their military careers before the war by joining the 3rd Infantry Battalion militia. The unit, knows as the Werriwa Regiment after the Aboriginal name for Lake George, was recruited from the Canberra region and south-eastern NSW. From 1940 its members trained in the purpose-built Drill Hall in Acton (now the Drill Hall Gallery at the ANU).

One of the nine enlisted as early as January 1939, eight months before the war was declared. The others enlisted progressively from June 1940 in the Army or Air Force. They served on the home front and on active service in Europe, North Africa, Malaya, New Guinea, India and Borneo.

Four were killed in the same year, 1942. Two have no known grave. One died after the war ended. The youngest was just 18 and oldest 25.

The new honour roll will replace a brass plaque that had fallen into disrepair on the wall of the pool’s foyer.

Air Commodore Matt Hegarty, commandant Australian Command and Staff College, will unveil the restored honour board.