Malcolm Evans' Anzac cartoon, portraying New Zealander Richard Henderson and his donkey at Gallipoli.
Malcolm Evans' Anzac cartoon, portraying New Zealander Richard Henderson and his donkey at Gallipoli.
I read with interest your article about Richard (Dick) Henderson in Tuesday's Age. (Who was the hero with the donkey?)
He was my great uncle, my grandmother's brother. My grandparents had a copy of the photo, and a biscuit tin with a copy of one of the paintings by HoraceMoore-Jones on it, and told me that it was my great uncle and not Simpson.
I was only a child then, and because war was not a subject that was spoken about in those days I did not fully understand the importance of it, but they were obviously concerned that nobody knew the truth.
It was only when Uncle Dick told his story in his latter years that the mystery of the man in the painting was properly identified and New Zealand began to acknowledge him. It is well documented now, and we have a right to be proud of these men who were prepared to give their lives that we might be free men.
Sometimes a photo such as the one that Jackson took will become a symbol of the price of our freedom, and if this is what will stir our memories to the reality of war then we should use it to remind us of the awful price that was paid.
