Annandale First World War Memorial

The war memorial at Annandale is in the form of a hybrid obelisk/cenotaph, that incorporates curved seating. The memorial was the result of an architectural competition drafted and judged by the NSW Monuments Advisory Board in 1920. The architect R. Keith Harris won the first prize of £15 with second prize of £10 going to John D. Moore.

The memorial was unveiled in February 1921. The monument comprises a central obelisk/cenotaph, rectangular in plan, and flanked by seating curved forward in quadrant plan. The seats terminate in two pedestals mounted upon which were two electric lamps (now missing) in the form of eternal flames. The structure is built from Bowral Trachyte.

Names of the 87 local dead are inscribed on the front face of the central element, with a bronze panel fixed to the front face below these names. On the rear face of the monument is carved in large letters 'To The Immortal Dead'.

The memorial cost £1,250 and was constructed by the builder F. Gagliardi. The memorial is unusual in including a 'plot of remembrance' near the memorial, this is a ersatz grave which allowed mourners to remember their dead at a more personal level.

The memorial includes the name of Private Robert Watson of 169 Trafalgar Street, Annandale who enlisted at Annandale on 12 February 1917 several days after his 15th birthday. He was born in Annandale in 1902 and attended Annandale Public School. He was killed in action one year later on 24 March 1918, aged 16 years and two months.

References: Architecture 20 April 1920, p.106; Construction 30 March 1920, p.3; Art in Australia, 2 May 1922, p.69.

Additional information: 

Annandale's Great War: A Short Walk is Marghanita da Cruz's third book in a series, which explore today's Annandale, while delving into its past, a decade at a time. Over 1200 locals left Australia as members of the Australian Imperial Force or to join British regiments. Annandale's Great War provides a self guided tour of the First World War honour boards and memorials around Annandale and the ANZACs whose names appear on them.