by John Horne

On 18 August , Australia commemorates Vietnam Veterans ’ Day which takes place on the anniversary of the Battle of Long Tan from 1966 . On this day the sacrifices of those who died are remembered and we say thank you to the almost 60,000 Australians who served during the ten years of our involvement in this war .

Many Vietnam Veterans have a connection to Blacktown City and RSLs in Blacktown , Riverstone , Rooty Hill and Seven Hills will hold events to commemorate all Vietnam Veterans and the sacrifices they made .

More than 250 Vietnam Veterans from the Navy , Army and Air Force have a connection with Blacktown City because they were born here , they were called up or enlisted whilst living here or they came to live in Blacktown in the years following their service .

Blacktown grew during the Vietnam War

When Australia committed its military forces to the Vietnam War in 1962 , Blacktown was a very different place than it is today . Firstly , its population in the early 1960s was about 64,000 people and by the end of war had grown to about 135,000 .

Secondly , just before Australia became involved in war , Blacktown was still the Shire of Blacktown . It was proclaimed a Municipality

in 1961 and didn ’ t become the City of Blacktown until 1979 . There were many physical , societal , cultural and political changes during the war . Local developments and events Late 1950s - 1960s : Large scale housing development occurred along the railway lines and in other parts of Blacktown and north of Mount Druitt .

Early 1960s : The Stockade Hotel , now the Lalor Park Hotel on Sackville Street and the Miller ’ s Hotel on Kildare Road opened . Later the Miller ’ s became the Comb and Cutter , then the Sportsman ’ s and is now the Blacktown Tavern .

1962 : Blacktown Municipal Council employed two nurses to operate a Home Nursing Service for the aged and the chronically ill . There was no district hospital at the time , the closest being Parramatta or Penrith . The Doonside Hotel opened . Mitchell High School , Rooty Hill High School , Our Lady of Lourdes Primary School and St Michael ’ s Primary School also opened . July and August saw the first Australian soldiers arrive in Vietnam .

1963 : Blacktown Drive-In Theatre opened .

1964 : Doonside High School opened . The Tokyo Olympics were held , and the Parklea Golf Course opened . It ’ s now the site of Parklea Prison . A conscription scheme was introduced under the National Service Act 1964 by the Australian Government . It was designed to create an army of 40,000 fulltime soldiers . It was a selective conscription that meant that only a certain number of 20-year-old Australian men would be chosen to serve in the Australian army . The process for choosing them was like a lottery .

1965 : A subsidiary company for

Transfield began manufacturing the Transavia Blacktown Council ’ s office block in Flushcombe Road was completed . Blacktown Hospital opened with the capacity for 160 beds . Vietnam War Hero and V . C . Winner , Kevin Arthur “ Dasher ” Wheatley who was killed in fighting on 13 November 1965 , was buried at Minchinbury at the Pinegrove Memorial Park and Crematorium .

1966 : Blacktown ’ s population was 111,488 . The Blacktown Courthouse and Police Station opened . Meals on Wheels began in Blacktown and on 18 August The Battle of Long Tan , Vietnam took place .

1967 : Marayong Public and Shelley Public Schools opened . The Blacktown Shire Council Chambers that were opened in 1939 , were transformed into the first Blacktown Municipal Library .

1968 : In May the Battle of Fire Bases Coral and Balmoral , Vietnam took place . Blacktown Workers ’ Club began planning for a sporting complex on its land on Reservoir Road and on 18 October , 17-yearold Seven Hills girl , Maureen Caird won a gold medal in the 80m hurdles event at the Mexico Olympics . The old Prospect Inn was demolished to make way for a widened Great Western Highway . Later the Prospect Hotel / Motel replaced it .

1969 : Mt Druitt High School and Mountain View Adventist College , Doonside were built , and K-Mart Blacktown opened its doors . In June the Battle of Binh Ba , Vietnam took place .

1970 : Construction of the NSW State Brickworks on Richmond Road , Marayong took place . The site is now the suburb of Woodcroft .

1971 : The population of Blacktown City reached 133,655 .

1972 : Featherdale Wildlife Park and the one-million-dollar Rooty RSL Club opened . Local Vietnam Veteran John Kinsela competed in the wrestling at the Munich Olympics .

1973 : On 11 January the Governor- General , Sir Paul Hasluck , formally announced that Australia ’ s involvement in the Vietnam War was over . Westpoint Blacktown opened .

1974 : Vietnam Veteran George Perrin was elected to Blacktown Municipal Council as an Independent candidate for Ward 4 . He had served in Vietnam with 5 Battalion Royal Australian Regiment from May 1966 till May 1967 .

Blacktown Civic Centre , Campbell Street , Blacktown , 24 June 1962 just before the Vietnam War started ( Blacktown and District Historical Society Image 6829 , Courtesy of The Carl Syme Collection held by the Riverstone and District Historical Society Inc .)