Ourimbah First World War Memorial Arch

The memorial consists of a large beam resting on two stone pillars to form an arch. The dates 1914 and 1918 appear on the north face of the beam. On the north face of each pillar is a plaque inscribed with a list of those from the area who served in the First World War. At the top of each plaque is the Australian Imperial Force (A.I.F.) emblem. 

The original scrolls were unveiled in a ceremony on Sunday, 19 November 1922. Short addresses were delivered by the Hon. W.M. Fleming, M.H.R., Rev A. Renwick, and Cr. F.D. Burns, who chaired the ceremony. Two war trophies were also unveiled in Ourimbah on this day and it is possible the scrolls were unveiled at the same event (The Gosford Times and Wyong District Advocate, 16 November 1922). 

The plaques mounted on the pillars were unveiled on Sunday, 1 May 1938, at which time Anzac Day was also commemorated. The dual ceremony had been postponed from the previous Sunday, due to the visit of a group of New Zealand Diggers to the district. The honour of performing the unveiling was given to Mr L.A. Robb, C.M.G., State President, Returned Soldiers' League (Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate, 2 May 1938).

The memorial is located south of the Ourimbah train station entrance, and adjacent to the north side of the Pacific Highway.

Additional information by Sydney Trains

A memorial gate with a white timber beam sitting across two sandstone-block pillars. It contains 74 Ourimbah community veterans names who served in the First World War, inscribed on two bronze plaques attached to the front of each pillar.

The scrolls were unveiled by M.H.R. W.M. Fleming, Rev. A. Renwick and F.D. Burns in 1922, and the plaques were unveiled in 1938 by L.A. Robb C.M.G., President of the Returned Sailor's Soldier's Airmen's Imperial League of Australia (R.S.S.A.I.L.A.).  

The memorial is situated in a park adjacent to the Ourimbah station pedestrian bridge, and near the Ourimbah-Lisarow Australian Armed Forces Bicentennial Memorial. The memorial lies within the heritage listing boundary of the Ourimbah Railway Station Group.