The hub will take over the role of the War Memorial Hall, which formerly occupied the site.
The new memorial alcove and outdoor wall of remembrance will record all men and women from the district who served overseas, in addition to those who lost their lives.
Kevin Baff, who has requested the public’s assistance in compiling the data, is uncovering many stories about people from the South Otago district who saw service overseas.
One example is Mary Helen Rae, who was born at Raes Junction in 1879.
She trained as a nurse and worked with the army in Port Said, Egypt, in 1915, where many of the wounded she tended to arrived from the Gallipoli campaign.
In October 1915, Ms Rae was one of 36 nurses and 89 other New Zealand Medical Corps personnel ordered aboard the British merchant transport ship the SS Marquette, destined for the northern Greek port of Salonika (Thessaloniki) as New Zealand’s contribution to the Allied campaign in the Balkans.
Also aboard was the ammunition column of the British 29th division, numbering 449 men.
The transport vessel was not marked as a hospital ship and was escorted until October 22 by a French destroyer through U-boat haunted waters.
About 9am, in cold, grey weather on the morning of October 23 with Salonika about 58km away "a straight, thin, green line" was seen coming through the water, forward on the starboard (right) side.
The Marquette had been torpedoed by German submarine U-35, and disaster unfolded as the 7057-ton steamer rapidly sank.
Lifeboat deployment was confused, and many sank, leaving hundreds of people in the water. Rescue was a long time coming as the Marquette’s distress signal was weak and erroneous, and the correct location received by the French and Royal Navies was actually signalled from the U-35.
A total of 167 people died, 10 of whom were nurses.
Many bodies were never recovered or identified, including 36-year-old Ms Rae, who is today "Remembered with Honour" at Mikra Commonwealth War Grave, Thessaloniki.
The armed conflict record of the Rae family remains part of Mr Baff’s research and he had reason to believe Mary Rae had brothers who served and may also have died during World War 1.
His hope was, with the help of the Clutha Community Hub Charitable Trust and local families, the stories and images of local people like Ms Rae would be remembered with honour at the new memorial wall and accompanying public digital archive.
Mr Baff himself has a long background in the military. He joined the air force as an apprentice engineer in 1965, beginning a career in the military that led him to the rank of lieutenant-colonel. While in the military, he worked in the fields of humanitarian and conflict law, representing New Zealand at high levels all over the world, including deployment to active conflict zones.
A published author and Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, Mr Baff lives in retirement with his wife in the Clutha district and has offered his expertise and passion for military history to hub planners and the community.
By Nick Brook
