Battle of Coral Balmoral and
Richard Norden VC Memorial Dedication
in Gundagai - 14 May 2026
(and stopover in Canberra)
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Battle of Coral Balmoral and Richard Norden VC Memorial in Gundagai, NSW (May 2026)
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Trip Map to Gundagai and then on to Canberra
Trip Details		 Stanthorpe Showgrounds
Stanthorpe
Showgrounds		 Fuel Securty
Fuel
Security		 Armidale Showgrounds
Armidale
Showgrounds
Milly loves the big beg
Milly
(loves the big Bed)		 Tamworth Paceway (old Showgrounds)
Tamworth
Paceway		 Colleen and Milly at the lookout
Colleen & Milly
Tamworth Lookout		 Tamworth Golden Guitar
Golden Guitar
Tamworth
Denis and Chad
Denis & Chad
Tamworth		 Peak Hill Showgrounds
Peak Hill
Showgrounds		 Cowra Showgrounds
Cowra
Showgrounds		 Gundagai Discovery Cabin and Caravan Park
Gundagai Discovery
Cabin & Tourist Park
Colleen and Milly having Breakfast
Milly & Colleen
(sharing breakfast)		 Cheryl, Mal, Sarah and Mark
Cheryl, Mal, Sarah
and Mark		 Denis in the crowd
Denis & Mal
 (standing centre)		 The Crowd
Memorial Statue covered (left)
The Crowd
Govenor-General's
Flag (centre)
MARS Huey flypass (Navy Vietnam Veteran Pilot)
MARS Huey flypass
 (Ex Navy VV Pilot)		 Memorial Service
L-R RAAF, Army and Navy Flags		 Memorial at Night
Memorial: Batttle of Coral Balmoral/Richard Norden VC		 Memorial Statue L-R Mal, Mark and Denis
The Statue of Richard Norden VC with Mal, Mark and Denis
Memorial Plaque
Richard Norden VC
Memorial Plaque
 Memorial Plaque
The Battle of
Coral-Balmoral
Memorial Plaque		 Memorial Plaque KIA
Battle KIA
Memorial Plaque		 Memorial Plaue UCG
Unit Citation for Gallantry (UCG)
Memorial Plaque
Cheryl and mal with Governor-Gemeral of Australia's Flag
Cheryl and Mal
Note: GG Flag (centre)		 Owen Blundel singing the Richard Norden VC song he wrote
Owen Blundell
Local Publican, Singing
'Private Richard Norden VC'		 Denis, Her Excellency the Honourable Sam Mostyn AC and Mal
Denis, Sam Mostyn AC (GG) and Mal		 Denis and Mark
Denis, Mark & Colleen
(Mark post Vietnam 104)
Discovery caravan park, Canberra Park
Discovery  Park
Canberra		 Jasmine and Milly
Jasmine & Milly
(with stick)		 Milly on the Lounge
Milly
(on the lounge)		 Nathan and Milly
Milly getting to
know Uncle Nathan

Milly finally wearing a coat in cool Canberra		 Wattaka Rest Area
Wattaka (West)
Rest Area		 Kempsey Showgrounds
Kempsey
Showgrounds		 Mullumbimby Showgrounds
Mullumbimby
Showgrounds
Trip Caravan Report
Anderson Plug During the trip the Anderson Plug that powers the DC-DC charger to charge the Caravan House Battery disconnected and fell from the D-Max and was stuffed. Repaired in Canberra as Nathan had the cable cramping tool.  My tool was a home but I did have a spare Anderson Plug!
Boot DC Dc Charger Upgrade Voltage meter

The 8 year old caravan AGM house battery was dead when doing the pre-trip testing and had to be replaced.  Replaced with a Lithium 12VDC 120Amp battery (LiFePO4) but this required a new DC-DC Charger and a Voltmeter in the caravan for monitoring. 
ANCEL BM200

However while all worked well, it also became apparent with a Lithium battery, the voltage changes are to small under load to realise the battery power availability and when recharging should occur.  Since returning home I have added a Bluetooth Battery Monitor (ANCEL BM200) that will give more clearer indications of the battery condition (SoC, voltage, battery temperature and charging, etc) directly to my mobile phone.
Huey that did the Flypass at the Memorial Dedication
MARS Huey doing Flypass

MARS Huey doing Flypass

Historic Aircraft Restoration Society's (HARS) Bell UH-1H 703 is back in the air after restoration by volunteers at QinetiQ Air Affairs at HMAS Albatross, Nowra, NSW. Now civil registered as VH-X9S, the Huey — or Iroquois — honors those who first flew her with RAAF 9 Sqn in South Vietnam in 1970 and over its subsequent career in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and then the Australian Army until 2007.

The HARS Aviation Museum is an all volunteer group of Aviation Professionals and Enthusiasts who have premises at Shellharbour Airport (YSHL), Albion Park Rail just over an hour by road South of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
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