Decision to scrap wind farm on First World War battlefield welcomed as 'wonderful news for every Australian'

French company Engie Green had planned to erect two turbines on the grounds of the Bullecourt killing fields 
French company Engie Green had planned to erect two turbines on the grounds of the Bullecourt killing fields  Credit:  Bloomberg

Australia has welcomed as "very touching" the scrapping of a planned French wind farm on the site of a World War I battlefield where thousands of the country's soldiers died alongside their British comrades.

French company Engie Green had planned to erect two turbines on the grounds of the former Bullecourt killing fields in northern France, where some 10,000 Australians were killed or wounded in 1917.

It marks one of the most significant sites in Australian military history.

Nearly 9,000 British troops were also killed, injured or captured. Of the tens of thousands of British, Australian and German soldiers who died there, it is believed the remains of 3,000 to 4,000 were never recovered.

The planned site for the wind farm is a natural burial ground near the Bullecourt memorial that is visited regularly by Australian families.

"This is wonderful news for every Australian and especially those with a family connection to the Battle of Bullecourt," veterans' affairs minister Dan Tehan said in a statement.

German soldiers in a trench near Bullecourt
German soldiers in a trench near Bullecourt Credit: Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images

"The Engie group has listened to the concerns of the Australian people and they have acted with empathy by cancelling this project."

Mr Tehan told Sky News he was also grateful for the efforts of the French government, saying it showed "how the French still, 100 years on, take so importantly what Australians were prepared to do for them".

"From the local mayor right through to the minister for veterans' affairs, they all referred to the diggers and the legacy of the diggers ... it's very touching for all Australians," he said.

Diggers is Australian military slang for the nation's wartime soldiers, and reflects the digging that troops on the frontline did to create trenches.

Engie said the project was axed as the company was "sensitive to the emotion aroused in Australia and anxious to alleviate the fears" of everyone involved in preserving the memory of the fallen.

"The recent reactions have highlighted the symbolic nature and sacredness of the site," the company said in a statement.

"Respectful of the memory of Australian soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice on French soil during the First World War, Engie has taken the decision to cancel this project."

Local mayor Gerard Crutel had warned that building the foundations for the turbines risked disturbing bodies which were often buried where they fell during the slaughter.

"They're sure to find cadavers," he said.

Even now human remains and tonnes of unexploded ordnance are still being discovered by local farmers, some of whom refuse to dig deep into the soil out of respect for the fallen.

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