Hector Vasyli was only eleven years old when he was fatally injured on the 9th of June 1918. He had lined up at Brisbane’s main street, close to Victoria Bridge, with thousands of others to welcome the soldiers returning from the battlefields of WW1. Hector, the youngest son of a Cypriot migrant and an Anglo-Australian mother, was a cheerful, energetic boy who sold newspapers to earn some pocket money. His parents run the Oyster Palace, a restaurant at Melbourne St close to Victoria Bridge, the landmark that towers over the Brisbane River and connects the two sides of the city.
Hector was known for his patriotic spirit. He’d save his pocket money to buy small presents for the soldiers, gifts such as chocolate, cigarettes, flowers. Brisbane newspapers, following his death, published accounts referring to Hector’s participation in the war effort, his enthusiasm endearing him to the community of Queensland’s capital.
On 9th of June 2018, young Hector was cheering the returned servicemen when he was hit by a car which swerved to avoid ramming another vehicle in the procession. According to newspaper reports the following day, the car that hit Hector was carrying a soldier holding a big bouquet of flowers which obstructed the driver’s view when he was forced to make the sudden manoeuvre resulting in hitting the boy.
READ MORE
"They were the bravest people"
Hector was rushed to the hospital but died without being able to get help. Queensland’s Dalby Herald in an article published on 15th of June 1918 mentioned that “the boy was picked up and was driven by Mr Jackson with all speed to the St Helen’s Hospital. As medical assistance was not immediately obtainable there, Mr Jackson took the wisest course he could under circumstances and motored the lad to the Mater Miscricordium Public Hospital, where it was found that he had already succumbed to the injuries sustained. An examination of the body disclosed that the scull was fractured”.
Brisbane’s community shocked by Hector’s death under such tragic and heartbreaking circumstances erected a memorial at Victoria Bridge soon afterwards honouring Hector’s life.
The 11 year old Hector Vasyli has since become a symbol of patriotic spirit and remains a unifying focal point for ANZAC commemorations and other community events.
The plaque on Victoria Bridge bears a metal image of Hector and a brief description with the circumstances of his death. The white marble also contains the following:
"During his brief sojourn on Earth he devoted much of his time to patriotic work for Australian soldiers during the Great European War.
"In his veins ran the heroic blood of Greece, and in the breast of a child he carried the heart of a man."
ANZAC commemorations in Brisbane start from Hector Vasyli’s monument. The first wreaths are laid there, the first honours are offered to the 11-year-old Greek-Australian boy. Even today, 102 years after his death, his memory, spirit and legacy live on.
*The original podcast was broadcast on 11th of November 2019, Remembrance Day.
