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Redfern War MemorialPrint Page Print this page

02-March-2016
02-March-2016

Photographs supplied by Peter F Williams / Sandra Brown

The War Memorial commemorates those who died in service or were killed in action during World War One. The foundation stone for the memorial was laid on the 1st November 1919 and not the 2nd November as stated on the memorial. The memorial was unveiled on the 28th January 1920. 

Monument Characteristics:
Two white marble figures (Australian soldier and a young woman) dress a granite monument which is faced with a dedicatory plaque and a list of local men who gave their lives. The memorial also featured a tall column up until 1975 when a storm caused considerable damage, resulting in the subsequent repositioning of principal elements.

More than 1000 persons gathered at Redfern Park this afternoon to witness the laying of the foundation-stone of the memorial to be erected in honour of Redfern soldiers who fell in the war. Archdeacon Boyce, who for many years has been connected with Redfern, said that the large crowd was a testimony to the honor in which those who had given their lives for Australia were held by their fellow-countrymen. The worth of the Australian soldiers is testified to by both by friend and foe. Their honor and memory would never fade. Perhaps one hundred years hence there would be held around the memorial a meeting of another generation to show that the work done by these men would he remembered as long as the race existed. The Rev. L. Hurd,  representing the Methodist Church, also spoke. In laying the stone, the Mayor, Alderman Isaacs, said that the stone would commemorate the sacrifice made by residents of Redfern in the cause ot humanity.
Evening News (Sydney), 1 November 1919. 

The memorial erected by the citizens of Redfern-a granite column surmounted by the figure of an Australian soldier in marble at Redfern Park to the memory of the men from the district who fell in the war was unveiled yesterday afternoon. Several hundred people were present, most of them parents or relations of those whose memory is perpetuated by the memorial. It was mentioned by the Mayor (Alderman A. C. Isaacs) that the municipality was entitled to take an additional pride in the memorial for the necessary funds had been raised not from donations of substantial sums by a few people, but almost entirely from the shillings and sixpences and threepenny pieces collected by a band of willing workers associated with the committee. In unveiling the memorial, Mr.J. S. T. M'Gowen, M.L.C., who had himself lost a son in the war, paid a tribute to the valour of the Australian soldier and to the sacrifice in the cause of national freedom made by those who had given up their lives. The memorial cost £1000. 
The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW), 29 January 1920.


 

Location

Address:51 Elizabeth Street, Redfern Park, Redfern, 2016
State:NSW
Area:AUS
GPS Coordinates:Lat: -33.893374
Long: 151.205716
Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate.
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Details

Monument Type:Monument
Monument Theme:Conflict
Sub-Theme:WW1
Actual Event Start Date:04-August-1914
Actual Event End Date:28-June-1919
Link:http://www.warmemorialsregister.nsw…

Dedication

Actual Monument Dedication Date:Wednesday 28th January, 1920
Front Inscription

FOR GOD
KING AND 
COUNTRY

This Foundation Stone
Was Laid By
The Mayor Of Redfern,
Alderman A. C. Isaacs, J. P.
2nd November 1919

Left Side Inscription
This Memorial
Was Erected By The
Citizens Of Redfern
To The Honour And Glory
Of The Men Of This District
Who Gave Their Lives For
God And King In The Cause
Of Humanity In The
Great War 1914 - 1919
 " These  Brave Men Heard The Nation's Call
They Nobly Fought. Death Nobly Met .
They Gave Themselves, Their Life, Their All ,
While Life Shall Last We'll Ne'er Forget ."
                                                  
  D.F.B.


(Names)
Back Inscription

(Names)

Right Side Inscription
(Names) 
Source: SKP, NRWM, MA
Monument details supplied by Monument Australia - www.monumentaustralia.org.au