The combat work of military tracker dogs during the Vietnam War has been honoured in a new bronze sculpture at Edmondson Park in Sydney’s Southwest.

The life-size sculpture of a local tracker dog named Caesar has been unveiled near the town’s railway station which will be close to the new town centre.

Head of Western Sydney Projects at UrbanGrowth NSW Matt Beggs said tracker dogs were an important part of the significant military history of Edmondson Park.

“Edmondson Park is home to the former Ingleburn Army Camp, a purpose-built defence base and training ground for World War Two as well as during the Korean and Vietnam Wars,” he said.

“Many defence personnel trained here, as did many tracker dogs. It is therefore a great tribute that our new bronze sculpture depicts Caesar the tracker dog who went on to serve in Vietnam from 1967-1970.

“It is also an honour that Private Peter Haran, who trained with Caesar at Ingleburn and served as his handler in Vietnam, has been involved in today’s sculpture unveiling.”

Program Director at UrbanGrowth NSW, Tasha Burrell, said Edmondson Park was a new development in Western Sydney which proudly carries a strong military history.

“The planning and development of Edmondson Park and Bardia has been ongoing since 2011,” she said.

“UrbanGrowth NSW developed a masterplan for the area and construction is well underway. Once complete it will feature about 4,000 new homes, a new town centre, community facilities, schools, a 150 hectare regional park, smaller parks and playgrounds, walkways and cycleways.

“We are keen to recognise the strong military history of the area. We already have some streets which have military-themed names, as well as existing public art in military colours.

“Our new sculpture of Caesar the tracker dog will therefore fit in well with the area’s military theme. Situated near the railway station and close to the future town centre, the sculpture will become a central focus of the area.