Returning 10th Light Horse to full strength a reminder of WA’s strategic importance

A few years ago, I enjoyed lunch with one of Australia’s greatest film directors, Peter Weir.

It was an opportunity to discuss his work including classics like Master and Commander, The Truman Show, and the iconic Australian film Gallipoli.

Canning MP and Assistant Defence Minister Andrew Hastie.Credit: Trevor Collens

Weir’s great strength is that he speaks powerfully to the human condition, whether it’s the power of inspirational leadership of Jack Aubrey aboard HMS Surprise or, in the case of Truman Burbank, our desire to push past the hard borders that life sometimes imposes on us.

It’s no surprise then that Gallipoli remains Australia’s pre-eminent war film, still shaping how we think about the sacrifice of our ANZACs – particularly that of the Western Australians who served in the 10th Light Horse Regiment.

Weir revealed to me that he drew inspiration for the final scenes of Gallipoli directly from the pages of Charles Bean’s Official History.

Who can forget that final charge by the men of the 10th Light Horse Regiment at the Battle of the Nek?

As death awaits many of the diggers, one of the officers tells them: “I want you all to remember who you are. You’re the 10th Light Horse. Men from Western Australia. Don’t forget it.”

It’s powerful because those Western Australian men showed great courage in the face of death. It’s a moment on film that makes us consider our own mortality.

Bean himself described that moment this way:

“The 10th went forward to meet death instantly, the men running as swiftly and as straight as they could be at the Turkish rifles. With that regiment went the flower of the youth of Western Australia, sons of the old pioneering families, youngsters – in some cases two or three from the same home – who had flocked to Perth with their own horses and saddlery in order to secure enlistment in a mounted regiment of the A.I.F. Men known and popular, the best loved leaders in sport and work in the West, then rushed straight to their death.”

The moral force at the heart of Gallipoli is inspired by the sacrificial deeds of Western Australians.

Bean, at the end of the war, made this observation about the fighting qualities of Western Australian soldiers:

“Taking the record over the whole war, Australian leaders would probably give first place to certain units from Western Australia and Queensland, states that were colonies of the colonies, largely populated by energetic elements from the other states.”

It should make Western Australians proud to have this special place in the pantheon of Australian history.

Though the 10th Light Horse’s legacy and tradition remains, much has changed since Gallipoli. Since 1976 the regiment has been reduced in size to a sub-unit, serving in 13th Brigade as ‘A’ Squadron, 10th Light Horse. This was a consequence of post-Vietnam downsizing of the Australian Army.

But once more our nation faces new challenges to our security as great power competition increases in the Indo-Pacific region.

Western Australia is critically important in the defence of our country. Our geography straddles the most consequential region of the 21st century. The 2020 Defence Strategic Update highlighted the importance of investment and engagement in the Indian Ocean Region where we live.

The AUKUS trilateral agreement announced by the Prime Minister will drive greater investment in people, defence industry and our deterrence capabilities right here in Western Australia.

Today, with this strategic vista in view, we will re-raise the 10th Light Horse Regiment to full strength at a ceremony at Langley Park.

It will be the Regiment’s 107th birthday, and a fitting moment to forge a new direction whilst embracing the legacy of the brave Western Australian light horsemen from a century ago.

By increasing its size to a full regiment, the 10th Light Horse will play an important role supporting ADF operations here in WA and across the Indo-Pacific. We are equipping them for the challenges of the decade ahead, through the Army’s restructure and modernisation program.

The 10th Light Horse Regiment have already taken delivery of their first new Hawkei Protected Mobility Vehicles – 1100 of which are being built here in Australia. The unit manning will grow to 170 personnel by the end of 2022.

Their mission will remain a traditional cavalry one of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance – enabled by modern innovation and technology. The way we fight has changed over the last century but the 10th Light Horse Regiment esprit de corps endures today.

As we walk steadily into the future – with all its uncertainty – we are guided by the deeds of the past. The sacrifice, gallantry and dash of the 10th Light Horse Regiment shines the way forward for our great state and Australia.