More than 150 people attended the Kondinin Anzac Day dawn service this year that showcased a new mural by artist Jacob 'Shakey' Butler.
Dawn services at the current location were established in 2010 and in 2015 a Light Horse Monument was erected on the 100th anniversary of Gallipoli, to symbolise the commitment and sacrifices of all serving personnel who came from the Wheatbelt region.
The new mural has been designed to reflect the connection between the Wheatbelt and the Light Horse Regiment and was commissioned by the Kondinin Community Recreation Council.
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It is painted on the water tank and tells the story of a soldier leaving his family during the drought of 1914 to sail from Fremantle to serve as a soldier in the Great War, his life as a soldier and his eventual return home.
It was decided that mural should focus on World War I due to it being the beginning of the ANZACs and as a result of the effect it had on the area.
In 1910 and in the years prior to WWI, the pioneer farmers toiled to clear their land and were looking forward to harvesting their small acreages.
However, these early farmers were struck by the misfortune of a drought (one of the driest ever recorded) and the advent of the war in close succession.
The mural shows a farmer leaving his farm during this period which is depicted in the first image a couple looking over the dry, arid land.
Two thirds of Australians who answered the call to arms in WWI became casualties and this had a long-lasting effect on them, their families and society, with Kondinin being no exception.
Mr Butler noted when attempting to depict the Light Horseman, that he was fixated on the bravery and toughness that characterised these men, as well as the bond that they had with their horses.
He also found it particularly sad that none of the horses who accompanied the soldiers returned home.
Mr Butler has really tried to convey the bond between the soldier and his horse within the mural.
Many soldiers of the Wheatbelt left their families at their newly-established farms and went straight to the Black Boy Hill Training Camp (near Greenmount), before departing to war from Albany or Fremantle Port.
The Sykes brothers (Eustace, Bert and Reg), were one such family.
There is a reference to them in the mural where you can see three men boarding at a dock.This is representative of similar family commitments.
The Great War was said to be the war that ends all wars which is described in Eric Bogle's song Green Fields of France.
As people move along the mural, they can see the lyrics of the song depicted as if they were written by a soldier in reflection after witnessing the atrocities of the war.
It is estimated that 1000 to 1300 indigenous soldiers served in the Australian Imperial Force during the First World War, of whom about 250 to 300 made the ultimate sacrifice.
Pictured in the mural is a tribute to indigenous soldier Lewis Beaky Collard who became a runner in the front lines in France in WW1, 1914 and has relatives living in Kondinin.
Depicted is one of the few that made it home to his farm in the Wheatbelt.
Unfortunately for the returned soldiers, life didn't get much easier.
The pioneers who came in or before 1914 no doubt expected to have reasonable security within five to 10 years.
World War 1 and the drought came upon them before their plans could progress.
The Conditional Purchase scheme was in operation before the war, and after the war soldiers had blocks reserved for them (Soldier Settlement Scheme).
Soldiers returning to their farms or other employment often had injuries and or diseases from their war service, post traumatic stress disorder (at that time titled "shell shock") and issues relating to reconnecting with family and community.
