As Anzac Day passes by, the never-ceasing community drive continues in Glen Innes, with attention turning to another aspect of our shared cultural heritage.
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From the Glen Innes District tartan, officially certified by the Scottish Registry of Tartans, to the coming Australian Celtic Festival, Glen Innes has forged an identity from a shared and varied Celtic heritage, building a centralised monument speaking not only to the district’s ties to the various Celtic nations, but also to the will and drive of community stalwarts.
Beginning in the early 90’s the notion of building an Australian Standing Stones was kick started by the determination of former Glen Innes Municipal mayor David Donnelly and community legend John Tregurtha.
Over the ensuring years a total of 40 granite monoliths, measuring 5.5m in length, were sourced from the local district, through the innovative use of the expansive putty-like compound Expandite, the monoliths were split from parent rock under the supervision and expertise of George Rozynski and Lex Ritchie.
While the first three stones were naturally formed and sourced from the local district, the Expandite split monoliths were trucked through the donated efforts of the late community stalwart Ted Nowlan from their original location near Sydney.
Erected on the site overlooking Glen Innes to the points of the compass, marking true North, South, East and West, and aligned to both the summer and winter solstices, the site had moved from the brainchild of Mr Donnelly and Mr Tregurtha to a reality.
Incorporating prevalent aspects of the various Celtic nations, the site begins on Tynwald Hill, overlooking the stone circle, where the Celtic Family Wall, as a nod to the original Tynwald Hill at St John’s on the Isle of Man.
Recognised on the Isle of Man as the traditional meeting place of the Manx parliamentary assembly, dating back to the first millennium AD and a nod to Norse parliamentary practice, the Australian version commemorates what is considered to be the longest serving parliamentary group where annually on July 5, a representative of the British monarchy presides over the ceremony traditionally marking the declaration of new laws during the previous year and as an opportunity for personal grievances to be presented.
Sharing the hilltop, the Tara Hill monument, consisting of a flat stone with a second resting at the rear, is dedicated solely to the Irish nation.
Marking the 2001 Celtic Festival and the Year of the Irish, the Winnett family placed the two granite stones overlooking the site to represent the ancient seat of the high kings on Tara Hill in Ireland.
Appointing the college of guardians shortly after the construction, members of the community were inducted as representatives of the Breton, Cornish, Galician, Irish, Manx, Scottish, and Welsh communities and families in the district, with new Guardians inducted at each Celtic Festival.
This year, as a special nod to the community members that founded the Standing Stones, now recognised as a national monument, chairperson of the Australian Celtic Festival and member of the college of guardians, Raelene Watson will be joined by committee members in unveiling the Rock of Remembrance, located on Tynwald Hill, commemorating the community stalwarts who made the site a reality.
“Without these community minded people, the Standing Stones would never have happened,” Ms Watson said
As the Australian Celtic Festival draws near and the community reflects on its Celtic heritage, the Australian Standing Stones is anticipated to follow its Celtic predecessor, embracing the intrigue in its unique and unequalled design and construction.
When visiting the site in 1992, His Excellency Rear Admiral Peter Sinclair AO is remembered to have reflected on the Australian Standing Stones and nature of its builders.
“I wonder as I see these New England granite stones whether people visiting the site in two or three thousand years’ time will understand their origins—or whether the same mystery will surround them as it does with Stonehenge or the Ring of Brodgar.
“And are these stones likely to outlive all other evidence of our civilisation in the centuries to comer, as have the other standing stones of previous centuries.”
