War Memorial

There is a World War 1 memorial in the grounds of All Saints Church, Hunters Hill Sydney.

 

All the Parish Archivist's hard work in following Ralph Higgs' advice that the World War 1 war memorial needed restoration, culminated in the rededication ceremony following the 9.30am Choral Eucharist at All Saints on the Sunday before ANZAC Day. Stirring music, both of traditional and of a more contemporary nature with the Bevington organ and choir, prepared hearts and minds for the simple, solemn ceremony. Parish bugler Brendan Black, recently selected for the Millenium Marching Band 2005 (NSW Dept of Education and Training), provided the occasional music of Last Post and Reveille on the trumpet. Many of those who took part in that conflict were young boys of a similar age, and it was a hopeful sign that young people of our parish could provide music and also participate in wreath laying.

The Parish would like to hear from descendants of the men whose names appear on the memorial.

They all died O.A.S.

Charles Buckland	25th Btn	Army	France
Leslie K. Chambers	17th Btn	Army	France
Rupert Clark	3rd Btn	Army	France
Keith B. Clerk	MSM 3rd Div Eng	Army	UK
John Jeffery	3rd Btn	Army	France
Lindsay K. J. Lavers	1st Btn	Army	France
Charles G. Longworth	2nd Btn	Army	UK
William R. Mace	19th Btn	Army	Gallipoli
Charles E. Manning	24th Btn	Army	France
Frederick S. Phillips	MM 1st Btn	Army	France
Augustus W. Sewell	13th Btn	Army	Gallipoli
George B. G. Simpson	4th Btn	Army	Gallipoli
Philip J. Waller	1st Pioneers Unit	Army	Belgium
George Wilkinson	18th Btn	Army	France
Guy Owen Manning	1 Btn Trop Unit	Army	New Ireland
John E.S. Walsh	9th Aust LKTM Bty	Army	France

Contact:

The Archivist

Anglican Parish of Hunters Hill

2 Ambrose St

HUNTERS HILL 2110

(02) 9817 2167

Apart from the personal war memorials in the stained glass and plaques in All Saints Church (there are none in St.Mark's), the Parish war memorials are the two Parish Halls, both WW2, the stone memorial at St.Mark's, the Honour Roll (WW2) in All Saints' Hall, the Honour Roll Book (WW2) in All Saints Church, and two free standing memorial monuments in the grounds of All Saints Church.

The de-licenced Church of St.John at Woolwich had one Honour Roll Board (WW1) and a translation of St.John's Gospel together with the names of those who served in WW2 in a glass covered box. They have been retained on the property.

Of the two free standing monuments in the grounds of All Saints', the earlier one, a Boer War memorial in the northern front lawn, was unveiled in July 1901 and is in memory of Walter Laishley Spier, a Corporal in the New South Wales Citizen's Bushmen who died while on active service at Capetown, South Africa, on January 23, 1901. He was 26 years of age.

The structure is of polished granite in the traditional shape of a cross, mounted on a stone plinth, total height approximately four metres. The base is surrounded by a cast iron railing. This monument is in good condition, some ten years ago having had some cleaning of the stone and granite and painting of the metalwork. This conservation work was done under an initiative of the Federal Government whereby long term unemployed people were offered community work. The work here was done by a gentleman in his fifties who had been retrenched by the then Metropolitan Water Sewerage and Drainage Board.

In 1986, prior to the celebration of the bi-centenary of European settlement in Australia, local history groups throughout Australia were commissioned to record their district monuments and memorials. Some of these records were published in a book by Beryl Henderson, Monuments and Memorials a Tribute to their Worth. Our Boer War memorial is recorded in that book.

In a minute recorded at the Parish Council meeting in May 1919, it is noted that 'a memorial wall is proposed for the grounds of All Saints Church'. The next record found referring to a war memorial, is in a Messenger (The Parish Magazine) of May 1928, 'the memorial in the S.E. corner of the Ferry Street frontage of All Saints' needs completion'. It was suggested that 'the gas standards which had been in the Church be adapted and used for lighting the memorial'. That didn't eventuate, and there is no record of the date of dedication of that memorial. It will have a c date of 1928.

The monument we now have, is of a Celtic cross made of polished granite from the Gib at Bowral mounted on three cement steps and surrounded by a garden of rosemary ... symbolic of remembrance. Total height is approximately four and a half metres. The names of sixteen men of the parish are recorded on the face of the monument, the units in which they served and where they died. Three of the men died at Gallipoli.

Over the years, subsidence in the foundations of the monument has caused cracking of the cement steps. It is thought this has occurred because the natural drainage falls to that corner of the property. There is also an old well in the middle of that lawn.

An unsuccessful submission was made in 1986 for bi-centennial funding for restoration of the monument. Over the years, the Parish has not been able to allocate any funds to the work.

The condition of the structure has slowly deteriorated because of the subsidence, with the cross now slightly out of alignment. In 2004, the Parish successfully applied for a Department of Veterans' Affairs grant toward the quoted cost of $13,321 for the restoration work.

At the time of writing, fundraising is under way to make up the difference.

Sometime after the end of World War 2, an Honour Roll Book was compiled. It is a photographic as well as a service record of the men and women from the Parish who saw active service.

Our minute book records show that in January 1946, consideration was being given to a suitable WW2 Parish war memorial as well as a hall at Fig Tree. A War Memorial Fund was subsequently opened.

The need at the time for adequate teaching space for the Sunday School at Fig Tree was critical, with for a period, the facilities at the (then) baby health centre in Church Street (originally the Hunters Hill Fire Station, now the Hunters Hill Pre- School) were being used through the good graces of Hunters Hill Council.

The Sunday School War Memorial Hall in the grounds of the old Chapel School-house at Fig Tree, was opened and dedicated on October 9, 1953.

When the Old Church was moved to its new site in 1962, the Sunday School Hall was the first building to be moved and subsequently, the first of the two buildings to be re-erected on the new site. The large rock memorial was moved at the same time.

Between 1946 and when the Fig Tree Hall was opened in 1953, much time was taken at Parish Council meetings to discuss the accommodation crisis at Fig Tree. During this time, the proposed construction of the north western distributor was of great concern, because of the number of properties at Fig Tree which would be resumed for the bridge and roadworks. The Old Church site was one of the properties. The moving of the Old Church and Hall in 1962 has been documented in The Sure Foundation, our Parish history.

With the problem at Fig Tree resolved, attention was turned to the Parish War Memorial Hall. It was opened and dedicated on September 12, 1959. The Honour Roll Board was duly installed and in the intervening years, two names have been added to it.

No record can be found of when the WW1 Honour Roll Board was dedicated at St.John's at Woolwich. It is a timber board with eighty seven names and was flanked by two torch style lamps. A suitable WW2 memorial was considered as early as September 1945 (minutes) and was still being considered in 1952. Whilst a dedication date can't be found, the WW2 memorial is a translation of St.John's Gospel translated into the Gogodara language contained in a glass covered box.

War memorials are significant in a community. They remind us of the fragility of the state of peace in our world, and by extension, the great sacrifice individuals and families make in the pursuit of a stable, peaceful world.

The preservation of any monumental memorials can be problematic, especially with many custodian organisations having limited finances. Access to government funding on any level certainly helps, but the support of individuals is essential.

Parish Archivist. August 2004.

 

This page last updated 15/09/2007 Top of page