Private Albert SmithPrint Page 
The lamp on a trachyte base was erected by the residents of Liverpool to commemorate Private Albert Edward Smith who died in the South African (Boer) War.
Private Smith was a keen showjumper, winning prizes at both the Liverpool and Camden shows. His profession was listed as horsebreaker when he enlisted for army service in 1899. He joined the “A” Squadron New South Wales Mounted Rifles, a “picked body of especially smart men; good shots and daring riders, excellently mounted”. A.E. Smith left for South Africa in November 1899, after farewelling his friends in Liverpool.
He contracted enteric fever (typhoid) and died in Bloemfontein, 30th May 1900. When news of his death arrived in Liverpool there was great keenness in the local community to commemorate his death, though he was not born in Liverpool and was not living there when he enlisted. He had many friends in Liverpool and his father was a popular local police sergeant.
The lamp has led a gypsy-like existence since it was built. It was dismantled in early 1926 and moved adjacent to the new Soldiers’ Memorial School of Arts and Ambulance buildings in Macquarie Street. By January 1927 a new lamp fitting was being chosen. It was moved from there to a site adjacent to Liverpool’s Soldiers’ Memorial Swimming Pool in 1965. In 1999 it was moved again, close to its original site in Scott Street. It was unveiled in May 2000, 100 years to the day since Smith had died in South Africa.
Memorial Unveiling 1905Location
| Address: | Memorial Avenue & Macquarie Street, Liverpool, 2170 |
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| State: | NSW |
| Area: | AUS |
| GPS Coordinates: | Lat: -33.924953 Long: 150.922811 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate. |
Details
| Monument Type: | Structure |
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| Monument Theme: | People |
| Sub-Theme: | Military |
| Actual Event Start Date: | 30-May-1900 |
| Actual Event End Date: | 30-May-1900 |
| Designer: | John Reid (architect) Loveridge & Hudson (Sydney) -monument G.Marr & Sons (Pyrmont)-lamp standard |
| Monument Manufacturer: | Loveridge & Hudson (Sydney, NSW) -monument, G. Marr & Sons (Pyrmont, NSW)-lamp standard |
Dedication
| Actual Monument Dedication Date: | Saturday 16th September, 1905 |
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Erected by the residents of Liverpool
To the memory of Private A. E. Smith
Mounted Infantry
Died at Bloemfontein
30th May 1900
Aged 24 years
Private AE Smith Memorial
This historic lamp was restored by Liverpool City Council and officially unveiled on Tuesday 30th May 2000 the 100th anniversary of the death of Private Albert Edward Smith by the Hon George Paciullo OAM CLO Mayor
Councillor Wendy Waller Deputy Mayor
Councillors
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