TRANSCRIPT: INTERVIEW WITH CAMERON REDDIN, SKY NEWS, 15 November 2024
Subjects: Richard Norden
E&OE
STARTS: 1:50pm
CAMERON REDDIN:
Michael McCormack, thank you for your time. I want to ask you about the significance of Richard Norden’s Victoria Cross to a town like Gundagai. We can see a bit over 1,000 names on the cenotaph behind us.
MICHAEL McCORMACK:
There are 1,133 names on that cenotaph, and for a country town, it just shows how much they gave. The service and sacrifice of Gundagai would be second to none, almost throughout the entire Commonwealth. Each and every one of those names represents a story. Each and every one of those names belonged to someone who was loved and who loved in return. Indeed, we lost a great deal.
But Richard Norden and his brother Robert are there on that cenotaph. And how proud is Gundagai today, and going forward, about the announcement by Sam Mostyn, the Governor-General, that Richard Norden DCM is now Richard Norden VC – Victoria Cross for Australia.
CAMERON REDDIN:
It's significant for the family, of course, for those who served with him, and for those who campaigned for this recognition. But for a town like Gundagai in particular, to have its service recognised – you think of his story as a 19-year-old, a country boy going off to Vietnam to serve his country. Then not once, not twice, but three times, he ran into enemy fire, where any step could have been his last.
It's an incredible tale of bravery, isn’t it? And from such humble beginnings in country Australia, to be honoured in such a way, is quite remarkable.
MICHAEL McCORMACK:
When you see the photo of him, ready to go off to war, ready to go and do his duty, he’s got that boyish grin, that wide country smile, that glint in his eye – and he wouldn’t have known what was ahead. I mean, so many soldiers, I think every soldier, doesn’t quite know what is going to befall them or what will transpire.
You're right, he put his life on the line – life and limb were very much at risk. And as you say, he went back and back, again and again, to rescue and save his mates. And indeed, as the Prime Minister said, there would have been a greater toll in that particular battle had he not done what he did.
He saved lives. He rescued lives. And he didn’t even think of his own. Quite incredible. Quite a remarkable story.
CAMERON REDDIN:
George Hulse, one of those who served with him in that battle – who was also there at Coral and Balmoral – talked about how he could have been just any young man in that moment, but that it took something special to rise to the occasion, to go back time and again, to put himself in that line of fire.
But he also noted that there were others, too, who made that sacrifice. And for regional Australia to be recognised in this way – we now talk about Richard Norden as one of only 102 to have been awarded a Victoria Cross. It is a broader recognition of the service of regional Australians, isn’t it? And for the families back home, for those who returned after the war, to build communities like this, to contribute to the RSL, to ensure commemorations like the one behind us continue – it speaks to that broader service as well, doesn’t it?
MICHAEL McCORMACK:
It does, absolutely.
After World War I, every country town built a cenotaph. After World War II, nearly every town built a memorial pool to recognise their war heroes. But after Vietnam, we didn’t treat or greet our soldiers as we should have when they returned. Thankfully, we’ve now rectified that. But there is still a lot of hurt among Vietnam Veterans for the way they were treated when they came home in the 1970s.
I think what has happened here – with Richard Norden rightly being awarded the Victoria Cross for Australia – goes some way towards helping to heal that lack of recognition and respect from the 1970s.
Make no mistake – he deserved it. And I know it was a process to get there. I appreciate that many locals were involved in advocating and lobbying for him to be justifiably acknowledged with a VC. Indeed, Peter Cosgrove – Sir Peter – said that when he read Norden’s citation, he was blown away. He said, Why this fellow didn’t get one before is anyone’s guess. And of course, he’s right.
But that has now been corrected, and it’s a great thing. It’s a great thing for his widow, Robynn; his sons, Shane and Scott; his brother Robert; his sister Robyn; and his other brother, Rodger.
Robert also served in Vietnam. His family is so very proud – and so is the entire Gundagai community. They are absolutely thrilled.
I went into Lotts Family Hotel the other day for a quiet one, and it was all anyone was talking about. You walk down Sheridan Street, and everyone is talking about Richard Norden. They are filled with pride, filled with satisfaction that one of their own has been recognised in this way.
This is one of Australia’s most iconic country towns, and now they have a VC recipient they can call their own.
CAMERON REDDIN:
The local RSL and some of those who served with Richard Norden are discussing ways he could be permanently memorialised in Gundagai as well. There’s talk of renaming part of a local road or interchange after him, as has happened in other parts of the country.
MICHAEL McCORMACK:
Let’s not muck around – let’s build a bronze statue. He deserves as much.
We’ve got Yarri and Jacky Jacky up the other end of the main street. They saved 69 lives during the 1852 Murrumbidgee floods – 69 white settlers they rescued.
This is a town steeped in history – a town with a rich cultural, military, and sporting heritage. But Richard Norden deserves a bronze statue. Let’s not worry about naming bridges or culverts or whatever after him. Let’s do it properly.
Let’s build a statue – a bronze statue – so that people can come, see, admire, recognise, and respect what he has done for this community, for regional Australia, for his family, and for our nation.
CAMERON REDDIN:
And put it in the heart of Gundagai?
MICHAEL McCORMACK:
Absolutely. Right in Sheridan Street.
There’s work being done on the main street right now – let’s make it part of that upgrade. I’ve been working hard to get a statue built for Wilfred Night in Junee, which is only half an hour from here. He was the first New Zealander killed at Gallipoli, and he enlisted from Junee.
We should recognise these war heroes because they represent quintessential country Australia. They embody bravery. They are part of what built this nation.
Richard Norden is one of those people, and we should be so very proud of him – and we are.
Let’s acknowledge what he has done. Yes, it has taken 56 years for him to receive his Victoria Cross. Let’s not wait another 56 years to properly and publicly honour him with a statue.
ENDS: 2:03pm