Cooma NSW

The sculpture of a nanny goat sits at the lookout and was created by local artist, the late Chris Graham.

Surveyed in 1849, Cooma is a town with a rich history approximately 400 kilometres southwest of Sydney. The discovery of gold permanently increased its population and brought prosperity to the township. The Snowy Scheme saw an influx of workers from Europe and dramatically changed the town’s character. Today, the township benefits from snow sports tourism which has become its driving industry.

The Memorial Diorama~Corporal Ernest Corey.

Part of the diorama depicts Corey as a stretcher-bearer in France during WWI and is based on a picture in the Australian War Memorial depicting stretcher-bearers saving wounded soldiers under heavy shellfire at Mont St Quentin during WWI.Corey enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in January 1916 after marching from the Snowy Mountains to Goulburn, some 200kms away, to do so. He went on to become the only soldier in the British Commonwealth to have ever been awarded the Military Medal and three bars (essentially four Military Medals). He won two in 1916 and a further two in 1918 for aiding wounded soldiers in his role as stretcher-bearer. Corey, who not only survived the war but lived to 1972 (81yrs old), always took pride in saying that, as a stretcher bearer, he was decorated for saving life, not taking it. This diorama was created by local sculptor the late Chris Graham.

Banjo Patterson and The Man From Snowy River.

Banjo Paterson, (Andrew Barton Paterson), Australian poet and journalist noted for his composition of the internationally famous song “Waltzing Matilda” and poem The Man From Snowy River. https://trishansoz.com/trishansoz/man-from-snowy-river/man-from-snowy-river.html