It would seem that its re-location and
refurbishment served two purposes.
Firstly, the loss of significance allowed council to demolish the School
of Arts building in 1969, and secondly the empty sandstone platform - where an
enemy trophy gun from World War One had once stood - was refurbished to reflect
community views at that time.
An initial investigation did not reveal any
consternation from residents about relocation, which, according to
K.S. Inglis, was common with other communities when War memorials were
threatened or moved.[1] However, that opinion was revised after
further research revealed that several earlier attempts to move the memorial
had failed due to community outrage..[2]
The only description of the original Springwood
memorial comes from photographs taken at the official dedication ceremony in
1923. Oddly, no newspaper report can be
found of the occasion.
Forty one years later a committee was formed to
re-locate the memorial and in January 1964 several groups were represented on
the committee including the Returned Soldiers and Sailors League (the
forerunner to the RSL), the ladies auxiliary, the Blue Mountains Beautification
Group and Alderman J. Powell who represented the council.[3] Powell’s involvement seems clear. He was anxious to get rid of the School of
Arts building from its valuable location in the central heart of town and he
had offered to purchase the School of Arts site from council prior to 1964.[4]
The committee managed to achieve its ends in a
very short space of time and today the War Memorial sits behind the decorative
gates that are a memorial of the service of local GP, Doctor Joel Baxter. Sophie Durham MBE officially dedicated the
memorial on Anzac Day 1964.[5] Matron Durham served on the army troop ship Gascon during the First World War.[6]
 |
| Unveiling of original War Memorial |
 |
| World War One Honor Roll |
 |
| Present day memorial & Baxter Memorial Gates |
Unlike the original sandstone pedestal that held
the enemy war trophy gun, the present memorial carries no potent symbol of
war. The cenotaph consists of a stone
pedestal, said to have been fashioned from the sandstone of the original
memorial, with a thin arch of stone where once the trophy gun stood. The arch holds the Flame of Remembrance and
emblazoned on the front are the words ‘Lest We Forget’ A granite plaque
announced that the memorial is in ‘Memory Of Those Who Gave Their Lives In The
Service Of Their Country,’ thus it does not discriminate between gender or
rank or indeed war. It is a memorial that honours all
those that have fallen in the name of military service.
It is perhaps unusual in that it contains no names,
dates or honor roll, but perhaps what it lacks in sophistication speaks volumes
about the feeling of the community at that time because of an impending war in
Vietnam and Australia’s inevitable commitment to the United States.
*The World War One Honor Roll is located in the foyer of Springwood Civic Centre
[1]
K.S. Inglis, Sacred Places, Melbourne
University Press, Melbourne, 1998, pp. 412-422.
[2]
Blue Mountains City Council local studies collection, Springwood library, War
Memorial File Springwood.
[3] The Blue Mountains Gazette, War Memorial
to be Moved, 8.1.1964, p. 2.
[4]
Blue Mountains City Council local studies collection, Town Clerk’s Report,
Offer to purchase, Item 17, 19.6.1962.
[5] Blue Mountains Gazette, Unveiling of New
War Memorial, Matron Durham to Perform the Ceremony, 1.4.1964, p. 7.
[6]
Ibid.
