Taree High School War Memorial Garden

This war memorial garden is set within the grounds of Taree High School. It contains a large timber sign with the name of the space and is planted out with a variety of shrubs. Positioned in front of the sign is a large bushrock, with two plaques attached. They are inscribed with the details of two ex-pupils who served in the Vietnam War. 

The top plaque is in memory of Captain Robert Bruce Milligan, who attended the school from 1948–1952. He served with the 5th Battalion Royal Australian Regiment (5RAR) and was killed in action on 14 February 1963. At the top of the plaque is the emblem of the Australian Army and at the bottom are the initials 'MDVVA 93'. Military historian David Wilson believes these may stand for 'Memorial dedicated by Vietnam Veterans Australia' and the year, presumably 1993. 

The bottom plaque is in memory of Lance Corporal Michael Paul White. Born at Cronulla on 9 April 1949, he died in Vietnam on 25 November 1969 as a Lance Corporal. He was buried in the Dawson River Cemetery at Taree, NSW. He was a student of the school between 1962–1963. His plaque also bears the Army emblem but has a different inscription at the bottom. It dates the plaque to 2007 and identifies the sponsors as the 5RAR Association and the Taree and Harrington RSL sub-Branches.

The 5RAR Association website states:

The Battalion lost 50 killed in action or died of wounds and a further 281 wounded in action. The Battalion paid a heavy price, for our dead and wounded comprised approximately ten percent of all Australians killed or wounded during the Vietnam War.

On 3 December 2006, after 33 years as a linked Battalion, 5RAR rejoined the regiment in its own right. 

Note: Details of White's war service were provided by Geoff Pearson, secretary of the association. Research for an article for the association's magazine led to the search for White's relatives. Assistance was given by the school's librarian, Heather Abbott. 

Following the research, approval was obtained from the association to have the plaque for White made, in a similar style to the existing plaques for Milligan and Second Lieutenant Kerry Rinkin. The RSL sub-Branches at Taree and Harrington agreed to share the costs with the 5RAR.