Rev Nile successfully moved the following motion in NSW Parliament on Thursday 6 November 2014, which stated:
Commemoration of the 1917 Australian Light Horse Charge at Beersheba
1. That this House notes that:
(a) on Sunday 26 October 2014, a commemoration of the 1917 Australian Light Horse Charge at Beersheba on 31 October 1917 was held,
(b) Reverend the Honourable Fred Nile MLC was proud to be patron of the impressive commemoration of the Australian Light Horse Charge which was held at Remount Park, Light Horse Parade, Holsworthy, Sydney,
(c) dignitaries taking part in the service included:
(i) Professor the Honourable Dame Marie Bashir AD CVO,
(ii) His Excellency Shmuel Ben Shmuel Ambassador of Israel to Australia,
(iii) Lt Col Rob Lording 1st 15th NSW Lancers,
(iv) Craig Kelly Federal Member for Hughes,
(v) David Sutherland President of RSL Liverpool Sub-Branch, and
(d) the event also included riders and horses from the 1st Australian Light Horse Heritage Unit, A Troop Richmond-Windsor Light Horse, the RSL Youth Community Choir, led by O J Rushton, and the MC and speaker, Greg Whitehead, Field and Media Officer of the Australian Christian Nation Association, who also organised this spectacular event.
2. That this House remembers that the capture of Beersheba by Australian, New Zealand and British soldiers is seen as a turning point in the history of World War I, as it was vital for the allied forces to capture the heavily fortified town in Gaza, which was held by the Turkish and German forces, two previous British attacks having failed with heavy casualties.
3. That this House notes:
(a) the Australian Light Horse of the 4th and 12th Regiments, armed only with bayonets, charged the Turkish trenches, taking the town in less than an hour and suffering only 67 casualties, including 34 deaths, and that this was a miraculous result in view of the fact they were charging over open ground in the face of fierce machine-gun fire.
