Colonel Granville John Burnage, CB VD.

Research by Dulcie Hartley

Granville John Burnage was born in Dungog, NSW on 14 December 1858.

His parents, Thomas and Kezia had arrived from England in 1853, having been encouraged to migrate by Thomas' old friend Bishop Tyrrell.

About 1870 the Burnage family moved to Newcastle, where Thomas established himself as a Wine Merchant. Later Granville assisted in the business which became known as T. Burnage & Son, of 3 Market Street, Newcastle.

In 1878 Burnage was one of the first recruits to join the Newcastle Infantry Company, New South Wales militia. He was commissioned lieutenant in 1883, promoted captain in 1885, and honorary major in 1896.

During 1901-2 Burnage saw action in the Boer War commanding IT Squadron, 3rd NSW Mounted Rifles Regiment. After the war Burnage resumed working in the family business and continued in the Militia. He was confirmed major and second-in-command of the 4th Australian Infantry Regiment. He became officer in charge of Newcastle port defences from 1909-13. He was promoted Lieutenant Colonel in 1909.

Although now 56 years of age, Burnage joined the Australian Imperial Force on 28 September 1914. He was in charge of Rosehill A.I.F. depot until 6th October 1914 when he was appointed to raise and command the 13th Battalion. Burnage was a strict disciplinarian, and in choosing his officers and other ranks he set an exceptionally high standard. During the training period of the battalion he made himself unpopular by the strictness of his command.

The battalion reached Egypt in February 1915 and soon became known as "Bill Burnage’s Circus", because its transport always carried streamers in battalion colours, the two blues, for identification during manoeuvres. They landed on Gallipoli during the night of 25 April 1915 and made their way to Monash Valley. Burnage had orders to reinforce Quinn's Post and Pope's Hill, and to help clear the enemy from Russell's Top.

In the first week of fighting his troops suffered heavy casualties and the battalion became known as "The Fighting Thirteenth". Burnage was continuously in the front line moving from post to post across the open ground. His fearlessness in action, and his concern for his men rapidly won him extraordinary esteem and affection.

During the 2nd May attack on Baby 700, a key enemy position, the men of the 13th reached their objective and held their ground, but were cut off without support. Burnage made his way back alone across an area swept by Turkish fire to report to brigade headquarters. He was ordered to withdraw his men under the cover of darkness. "The Colonel" wrote his 2nd in command, "was the last man out of that deadly fight in which we lost 300 men".

Such leadership from a man of 57 years won the highest regard from his men who now referred to him as "The Gamest Old Man". On 29th May 1915 his left elbow was shattered during a fierce Turkish attack on Quinn's Post. 

Burnage was invalided home, but first went to London where, on 25th November 1915, he married Helen Haslewood at St Peter's Anglican Church.

By August of 1916 Burnage had recovered sufficiently from his wounds to take command of Australian reinforcements on a transport. For the remainder of the war, Burnage was commanding officer on various troopships between Australia and England. He won commendation for his leadership when the 'Barunga' carrying over 800 troops, was torpedoed in July 1918. 

In 1916 Burnage had purchased land on the waterfront at Excelsior Parade, Carey Bay, and built his home Worilla' (extant), where he resided with his wife. There were no children from the marriage. Burnage's sister, Mrs Squirrell, lived nearby on the waterfront. Burnage commanded the 2nd Battalion, 13th Regiment, Australian Military Forces until March 1921, when he retired with the honorary rank of Colonel. Toronto was justly proud of Col. Burnage and for formal occasions in Toronto, particularly with visiting dignitaries, Colonel Burnage always officiated. Mrs Burnage also played a prominent role in the social events of the district.

A staunch churchman, Burnage donated a block of land in Excelsior Parade on which St Saviour's Church of England was erected. He predeceased his wife, dying at Carey Bay on 12th July 1945. A service at Christ Church Cathedral was followed by a private cremation at Beresfield.

Colonel Granville Burnage is commemorated locally by Burnage Reserve, situated adjacent to Excelsior Parade and Skye Point Road.

This article is an abridged version of the article by Lake Macquarie City Library which is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License