The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (4166) Corporal Michael Dullea, 4th Pioneer Battalion, AIF, First World War.

The Last Post Ceremony is presented in the Commemorative area of the Australian War Memorial each day. The ceremony commemorates more than 102,000 Australians who have given their lives in war and other operations and whose names are recorded on the Roll of Honour. At each ceremony the story behind one of the names on the Roll of Honour is told. Hosted by Sharon Bown, the story for this day was on (4166) Corporal Michael Dullea, 4th Pioneer Battalion, AIF, First World War.

4166 Corporal Michael Dullea, 4th Pioneer Battalion, AIF
KIA 3 August 1916

Today we remember and pay tribute to Corporal Michael Dullea.

Michael Dullea was born near Burra, in South Australia’s mid-north on 21 June 1878, the eldest son of Daniel and Mary Dullea. As a child, he moved to Saddleworth, where he was educated at the local state school. His father worked on the railways, dying when Michael was 25 years old. His mother was a keen gardener and faithful member of the Catholic church. After completing his education, Michael moved to Broken Hill, where he worked in the mines.

In August 1915 Michael Dullea caught the train to Saddleworth where he was joined by his youngest brother, Ted, and a friend, Norman Maxwell. The three went to Adelaide to enlist in the Australian Imperial Force. Posted to the 13th reinforcements of the 10th Battalion, after a period of training in Adelaide, they left for active service overseas early in 1916.

The Dullea brothers and Norman Maxwell arrived in Egypt not long after the Australians had been evacuated from the Gallipoli peninsula. The AIF was undergoing a period of expansion and reorganisation, and as part of this process the three were split up. Michael and Ted were transferred to the newly-formed 50th Battalion, while Norman went to the artillery. Shortly after the brothers moved, Michael was again transferred, this time to the 4th Pioneer Battalion.

Private Michael Dullea left Egypt for France on 4 June 1916, and continued training behind the front lines of the Western Front. He proved an able soldier, and by late July 1916 had been promoted to the rank of corporal.
The pioneer battalions of the AIF were largely engaged in labouring and construction work. While this often occurred behind the lines, pioneers were also called on to enter the front lines for a variety of tasks, including constructing strong points, repairing or digging trenches or laying cables.

In late July the 1st Anzac Corps attacked and captured the French village of Pozieres. On 1 August, the 4th Pioneer Battalion entered the front line to work on communication trenches, machine-gun emplacements, strong points and barbed wire entanglements in the vicinity of the village. The men were under some of the heaviest artillery fire yet seen in the war, as the Germans rained down a near-constant bombardment on the Australian position.

On 3 August, after two days working near the front line, Private Michael Dullea was killed in action. Little is known of the manner of his death, although it is likely to have been the result of the ongoing artillery fire.

His body was taken from the battlefield and buried a short distance north of Becourt, where his battalion’s headquarters was stationed. After the war his lonely battlefield grave could not be located, and today he is commemorated on the Australian National Memorial at Villers-Bretonneux.

Michael was not the only son the widowed Mary Dullea lost during the war. In early 1917, Ted, her youngest son who had enlisted with Michael, was killed at the battle of Noreuil. Later that year her second eldest son Charlie died of wounds near Steenwerck. In October 1922, Mary was chosen to unveil the soldier’s memorial in the town of Saddleworth, thousands of kilometres from the graves of her sons.

The names of Michael Dullea and his brothers are listed on the Roll of Honour on my right, among almost 62,000 Australians who died while serving in the First World War.

This is but one of the many stories of service and sacrifice told here at the Australian War Memorial. We now remember Corporal Michael Dullea, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Meleah Hampton
Historian, Military History Section