At Bombo cemetery, there is a sandstone obelisk commemorating Australia’s first soldier to die while fighting overseas.
But Robert Weir’s body lies in north-eastern Sudan, and his great-nephew David Potts believes that his ancestor should be returned home. Two years ago, the then NSW Minister for Veterans, Dave Elliot, promised action. Robert Weir died on May 1, 1885, fighting as part of a British contingent in the Sudan, one hundred and twenty eight years ago.
The federal Department of veteran affairs told ABC Illawarra that relatives could request that the remains of Australians, who have died in wars overseas, be returned home.
Robert Weir’s descendant David Potts has requested that action be taken but the department cannot confirm if any action to do so has yet to occurred.