
This war memorial was different from many others in that there was a four-sided clock mounted in the top of the monument, the only one in Brisbane. About 417,00 Australians embarked on overseas service for WWI, and 65% of them became casualties of some description. At the end of the war, many communities were moved to remember those who did not return from the "Great War", and Ithaca built this monument to commemorate the 130 of its sons who died. Their names are inscribed on the monument.

The park in which the memorial stands was designed by the Ithaca Town Council gardener, Alexander Jolly, father of future Brisbane mayor William Jolly. Alexander Jolly died in 1925, and the park was named the Alexander Jolly Park in recognition of the work he had done beautifying the suburb. Here's how it looked in 1950.

The park is now known as the Ithaca Memorial Park. It remains in its original position next to the Ithaca Fire Station, in the suburb now called Paddington.
Click here for a Google Map.
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I am coming back to the question of Great War memorials next week, and still haven't resolved the question of why they became so important in Australia:
ReplyDelete- to make up for the lack of a son or husband's actual grave?
- as a public site for honour, by the entire community?
- as a public site for community services and marches?
- so the individual names won't be forgotten?
The Paddington memorial looks as if it was located in a green and shady spot - a pleasant space for the citizens to go to.
I find it interesting too,Hels.
ReplyDeleteAs well as monuments like this one, I have also recorded a Catholic church, the Freemason's temple and an Anglican hospital that were erected as WWI memorials.
The hope that the Great War would be the last such war (Fail!), together with the sheer number of volunteers from Australia - so many of them killed or injured - must have been a very emotional time for Australians.