It was 30 years ago this month that Benalla lost its most famous son.
Army medic and war hero Sir Edward ‘Weary’ Dunlop passed away on July 2, 1993, at the age of 85.
While some in the Rose City might not be aware of his life and achievements, most will know the name.
Two local roads are named after him, he has an impressive memorial sculpture in the Botanical Gardens, Benalla Library is also known as the Sir Edward ‘Weary’ Dunlop learning centre and what became the Barkley St campus of Benalla P-12 College was known as the Dunlop campus for many years.
Weary was born on July 12, 1907, to James and Alice Dunlop.
He grew up on his parents' farm at Stewarton and completed his schooling in Benalla.
After graduating at 16 he became an apprentice at a local pharmacy, while studying in that field by correspondence.
He completed his studies in Melbourne, graduating top of his class and taking out several awards.
As a result, he was offered a scholarship to study medicine at the University of Melbourne, where he graduated with Bachelor's degrees in Medicine and Surgery.
It was during his studies that he signed up to serve his country.
A short time later, he was commissioned a Captain in the Australian Army Medical Corps.
Eager to study more he would earn a Master's degree in surgery in 1937 before heading to the UK the following year.
While there, he once again continued his studies, eventually becoming a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons.
In 1939, WWII broke out, and Weary was determined to serve his country.
It was less than a year later that he was headed to the Middle East to do just that. Later, he would be deployed to Greece.
Weary worked as a medical liaison officer for the Australian and British forces in several campaigns.
His passion to serve his country is exemplified by the fact that even when hospitalised in Egypt he would desert his hospital bed to head back to the front lines.
He would subsequently live in a cave while he served at a casualty clearing station, caring for other soldiers.
Weary later served in Sumatra and Java, and he was promoted to the position of Lieutenant Colonel commanding the 1st Allied General Hospital at Bandung.
He became a prisoner of war despite having an opportunity to escape the Japanese forces.
Instead, he chose to stay with his patients.
Along with other prisoners he was shipped to Singapore where he was transported to Thailand to work on the infamous Burma - Thai railway.
More than 100,000 Asian labourers and prisoners of war worked in horrendous conditions. Many died.
Even as a prisoner of war, Weary was in charge of 1000 men due to the fact he was a commanding officer.
A courageous man, Weary often displayed incredible courage to protect his men.
He returned to Australia in 1945 and would spend much of his life caring for former prisoners of war, even after retiring.
Throughout his life, Weary was given numerous honours including receiving an OBE and an OAM, two of the highest honours a person in the UK, and Australia can receive respectively.
In 1995 the people of Benalla commissioned a memorial which was officially opened the following year, in front of 9000 people. by former Prime Minister John Howard.
Locals had been very specific in their requests for how the memorial would look, with the traditional idea of a lone figure standing in uniform quickly rejected.
Ultimately, renowned sculptor Louis Laumen was chosen to design the memorial. He had been a finalist in a Weary Dunlop Memorial competition in 1994.
His brief was to create a non-traditional sculpture. The final design depicts Weary stooping over an injured prisoner of war as a second medic, kneeling down, begins to attend to the stricken soldier's injuries.
It was cast in bronze and is more than two metres tall, standing on a granite plinth.
The location chosen was a tranquil setting at one of the entrances to Benalla's Rose Garden, only metres from the town's memorial garden which includes the cenotaph and other military memorials.
In a sign that Benalla still remembers and respects Weary, and his amazing life story, flowers were laid on the memorial marking 30 years since he passed - despite no official ceremony taking place.
If you knew Weary and would like to share your memories of him, the Ensign would love to hear from you. Any letters to the editor regarding Weary will be printed in our July 26 edition.