A bronze centenary sculpture honouring the Light Horse charge at Beersheba and the Upper Hunter horses that took part.
On 31 October 1917, the 4th and 12th Australian Light Horse Regiments rode into history at Beersheba, charging Turkish defences at dusk armed with nothing but bayonets. The action became Australia’s first great victory of the First World War and the last successful cavalry charge.
Fewer people know that many of the horses carrying those soldiers were bred in the Upper Hunter, a reminder of the region’s long standing as premier horse-breeding country. This bronze sculpture marks the centenary of the battle, capturing the determination of the riders and the courage of their mounts.
Its creator, award-winning artist Brett “Mon” Garling, is also a landscape painter. He founded the Garling Gallery in 2004, set in a restored century-old shopfront at Wongarbon near Dubbo, where his paintings sit alongside a sculpture garden.