18 Feathers In Their Caps

I’m joining Becky in her July Square Photo Challenge over at The Life of B. The rules of the challenge are simple: most photos must be square and fit the theme word tree. Look for #treesquare. Come with me on a Central Queensland road trip starring trees and the beautiful landscapes of my home state.

Capella

A long avenue of bottle trees defines the park beside the highway at Capella. At one end a little shelter shed provides shade from the morning sun. At the other end a beautiful memorial pays homage to the Australian Light Horse, who served with distinction in the Boer War and World War One.

Local legend connects Capella with the traditional emu plumes worn in the slouch hats of the troops of the Light Horse. A group of Mounted Infantry troopers based on duty near the town in 1891 is said to have been the first to tuck a handful of emu feathers in their hatbands.

Today, Australian Light Horse units operate as part of the Royal Australian Armoured Corps and the troops proudly wear their slouch hats, still decorated with plumes of emu feathers.