Townsville to host Rwanda reunion 30 years on from deployments
In the 1990s ADF personnel were called up to assist a country plagued by death and division. This year veterans will return to their old training grounds for the reunion.
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A little over 30 years ago, Australian soldiers were deployed to one of the hardest peacekeeping missions in the ADF’s history where bloodshed and death was rife to offer vital medical assistance.
Two contingents of Australian Defence Force personnel were deployed to Rwanda in the 1990s as a part of a peacekeeping mission as the country fell into crisis, with Townsville a significant staging ground for the mission.
Now, three decades on and Rwanda veterans from across Australia will return to Townsville this April, revisiting the very ground they trained on before they travelled across the ocean.
Townsville RSL President and Rwanda veteran Colin Mosch, who was part of 1994 advance party, said the soldiers landed in a large-scale humanitarian disaster finding mass graves and massacre sites.
“The Rwanda deployment was confronting at times,” he said.
“Both contingents faced extreme challenges, arriving in a country that has just suffered one of the most brutal genocides in history, the cruelty they inflicted upon each other was horrific.
“The tension between Rwandan soldiers and the Australians was often at a flashpoint.”
The first contingent of ADF personnel landed in late August 1994 and consisted of medics, infantry soldiers from 2/4th Royal Australian Regiment and logistics support company.
The second contingent consisted of a 2RAR company, engineers from the 3rd Combat Engineer Regiment, armoured personnel carriers from 3rd/4th Cavalry Regiment and medical specialists.
In 1995 these two contingents overlapped in the war-torn country, marking it as a significant moment in the mission.
It has been argued that without Australia’s assistance in providing medical help to displaced persons, there would have been many more deaths.
“Rwanda had a long history of tribal conflict,” Mr Mosch said.
“If the UNAMIR II mission had not occurred, stabilising the country at a critical time, there was still an appetite for more reprisals.”
Mr Mosch said Townsville was the staging ground for the entire mission.
“Both contingents trained here before deploying and for many of us, where our military careers were shaped,” he said.
The reunion is a time for veterans to reconnect with the people and the place which was so significant during the time, Mr Mosch said.
“There is a lot of interest in coming back not just for the reunion, but because Townsville was their home for some time,” he said.
The reunion will take place from April 22 to April 26.
Veterans interested in attending the reunion can email 2RAR.reunions@gmail.com for details.
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Originally published as Townsville to host Rwanda reunion 30 years on from deployments
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