The burial of the three victims of the Queanbeyan fire reported on this page was not the only sombre ceremony taking place in the district 100 years ago this week.
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For perhaps the first time in its history, the eyes of the nation turned to Canberra for the interment of Major General Sir William Throsby Bridges.
General Bridges, at this point the most distinguished military leader the young country had produced, had been the commandant of the Royal Military College, Duntroon, from its inception until May 31, 1914, when he became the Inspector General of the Australian Forces.
Once the long anticipated war against Germany was formally declared on August 4, 1914, he was made responsible for raising, and leading, the AIF.
The first task was performed with efficiency and distinction and before the year was out the first contingent of Australian soldiers had left their native shore with General Bridges at their head.
His division was reportedly the first ashore at Gallipoli and, according to his Australian War Memorial biography, the Australian general was the first to grasp the unflinching nature of the Turkish resistance and the challenges the Allies faced. By nightfall he, along with some other commanders, were advocating an immediate withdrawal.
This advice was not heeded.
General Bridges led by example, making regular visits to the front and sometimes ignoring advice to keep his head down or find a place of safety.
His luck ran out on May 15 when he was badly wounded by a sniper's bullet. Death followed on May 18 and, due to the usual issues with the rapid decomposition of bodies at that place and that time of year, he was buried at Alexandria two days later.
The Australian Parliament resolved his remains should be brought home and laid to rest in Duntroon.
The body was exhumed in July, placed in a lead-lined coffin and shipped back, arriving in Melbourne on September 1, 1915.
General Bridges lay in state in Melbourne's St Paul's Cathedral for three hours before the State Funeral which began at 3.30pm on September 2.
The body then travelled to Canberra by a special train, along with the Governor-General, the Prime Minister and other luminaries, arriving at Kingston the following day.
Another funeral service was conducted, this time at the Church of St John the Baptist, before the final burial on the slopes of Mt Pleasant that afternoon.
The grave was capped with stonework designed by Walter Burley Griffin and unveiled in 1920.
Duntroon's intensely private Anzac Day ceremonies are conducted around General Bridges' grave each year.
