Tabulam’s own Sir Harry Chauvel led the British forces at the Battle of Romani in World War I. Fought between 3 and 5 August 1916, the battle, won by the British, finally put a stop to the Turkish threat to the Suez canal and marked the beginning of the British forces’ drive out of Egypt and into Palestine.
The celebrations in Tabulam will start on Friday, 8 September with Jimmy Willing and the Far Gone Hickups playing at the historic Tabulam Pub.
They will swing in to top gear of Saturday, 9 September. The program for Saturday is:
- 10am-3pm – Static Light Horse Display and National Indigenous Servicemen’s Display in Tabulam Public School Grounds
- 11am – Light Horse Memorial Procession on the Tabulam Oval
- 11.30am – Live Light Horse Educational Display on the east side of the Oval, vintage car display on the west side of the Oval
- 1-7pm – Music and food at the Tabulam Pub
- 5.30-9.30pm – Memorial Dinner at the Tabulam Hall with guest speakers, films and music (to book tickets email mieke@mountainblue.com.au)
The festival will wind up on Sunday with a market day, Romani Memorial Market, at the Tabulam Oval from 9am-2pm.
The market will feature: a reptile and wombat display, the Wildlife Twins, author signing books about the Light Horse in WWI, professional musicians, face painting, Light Horse and National Indigenous Servicemen’s displays, colouring competition and canoeing on the river.
