The Auburn War Memorial is a large, vertically-oriented, sandstone monument, with 13 brown marble tablets attached to its front and rear sides. Originally called the Auburn Soldiers Memorial, it is surmounted by three figures. The central figure is a soldier, holding a banner or flag. Either side of him are two female forms: on his left is 'Justice', blindfolded and holding scales and on his right is 'Peace', with a dove on her right shoulder. At the soldier's feet is a laurel wreath, overlying a crown and a 'Rising Sun' array, inscribed with the words 'Australian Commonwealth Military Forces'.
Originally, the soldier was designed with his arm outstretched, in a 'Liberty Guiding the People' pose. Statues of soldiers in this pose are common in France but are rarely found on Australian war memorials. The arm and flagpole, upraised at 45 degrees, were frequently damaged by the elements, so when the statue was refurbished in 2014, the arm and flagpole were redesigned to be sturdier in inclement weather.
The memorial was designed by architect M. McGowan of Leichhardt and built by stonemasons Melocco Brothers of Annandale. The statues on top were almost certainly imported from Italy.
History
The original Auburn 'Soldiers' Memorial stood, facing west, between the entrance to Auburn Station and Rawson Street. The land was donated by the NSW Railways Department and for the next 93 years was known as Railway Park. The memorial was unveiled with great public ceremony on Sunday, 30 April 1922. The unveiling was carried out by Major-General Sir Charles Rosenthal.
After the Second World War, most communities in Australia did not build separate Second World War memorials but simply added names and inscriptions to their existing First World War memorials. This happened in Auburn. It was decided by the council to undertake a major project to move the memorial to Auburn Park, and replace the old white marble tablets with new panels, incorporating Second World War names and inscriptions. An Avenue of Honour was planted from Macquarie Road down to the memorial and the unveiling was performed by the Governor-General, the Duke of Gloucester, on 26 October 1946.
The commemorative site in Auburn Park proved to be too isolated. From time to time, vandals damaged the memorial, so in 1987, the memorial was refurbished and brought to stand in the Auburn RSL car park, directly opposite the Auburn RSL sub-Branch club house in Northumberland Road, Auburn.
When all RSL property in Northumberland Road was sold in 2013, the Auburn City Council established a committee of interested parties under the chair of Frances Hamilton, landscape architect of the council. After extensive consultation, the committee came up with the project to move the refurbished memorial back to Railway Park. This time, however, it was to be positioned on the Rawson Street side, facing south. The memorial was rededicated in a major public ceremony on Saturday, 28 February 2015.
The Auburn Soldiers Memorial could be the only war memorial in Australia that has moved three times and is now back in the same park, now called Memorial Park, in which it was originally unveiled.
About the inscriptions
The main inscription on the Auburn War Memorial is the Ode to the Fallen. It is found at the top of the centre tablet on the front side. Below the Ode is the list of First World War names. Originally, two smaller tablets were placed either side of the centre tablet, and on them was recorded the main battle sites of the First World War: Rabaul, Gallipoli, Lone Pine, Sari-Bair, Pozières, Fleur Baix, Somme, Bullecourt, Messines, Pashendale, Albert, Villers-Bretonneux, Hamel, Hindenberg Line, Mont St Quentin, Romani, Magdhaba, Rafa, Gaza, Beersheba, Amman, Es-Salt, and Damascus. On the rear of the memorial is a tablet inscribed with the dedication and details of the unveiling in 1922.
As part of the 1946 project described above, the names of the Middle East First World War battle sites were moved to the back of the memorial, on to two new tablets. The names of those who died in the Second World War were also listed on new tablets, positioned on either side of the centre tablet on the front of the memorial. Other conflicts were also added to the dedication tablet on the back of the memorial.
Notes:
- The battle site listed on the memorial as Pashendale should be spelt Passchendaele, as it was throughout the First World War. Today, the name of the Belgian village is officially Passendale.
- A full transcript of all inscriptions on the memorial is shown in the 'Inscriptions' section below.
About the veterans
The Auburn War Memorial was designed to be a genuine monument aux morts, that is, it was intended to carry only the names of those who died in the Great War. Over 900 men of Auburn signed up for service in the First Australian Imperial Force, so Auburn could not be like most other communities in Australia, who included the names of everyone who enlisted. There are, however, two First World War men named on the memorial who did not die in the Great War: S. L. Perry returned to Australia and D. Murray was discharged in the United Kingdom.
There are four First World War names on the memorial of persons that cannot be identified in any military records: H. Miller, M. Morgan, J. O'Brien, and T. Ross.
- H. Miller could be 777 Harold Herbert Miller, 37, who enlisted at Kensington in Sydney very early in the war, on 29 August 1914. His occupation was given as 'Locomotive hand' and 'Railway Workshops'. His next of kin were his parents at 'West Tamworth Railway Station'. Private Harold Herbert Miller died of heart failure in the United Kingdom.
- T. Ross could be 1766 Private Theodore Ross, a monumental mason who nominated his mother, Florence Ross of The Boulevard in Lidcombe, as his next of kin. Theodore Ross survived the war and returned to Australia.
There are also two Second World War names on the memorial, where the identity of the person is uncertain: J. C. Watson could be 424485 J. G. Watson and M. Miller could be 440045 Jack Miller.
Errors in names and initials
Originally, there was no central registry of memorial names, nor even an official list of those who died. In Auburn, as in other communities across Australia, lists were prepared both during the war, and immediately after, by local citizens. The lists were often hand-written, revised and added to over a period of several years.
Surname errors on the memorial:
- Arnott should be Arnot
- Browne should be Brown
- Granger should be Grainger
- Haigh should be Haig
- Hewitt should be Hewett
- Lussich should be Lussick
- Meade should be Meads
- Shepherd should be Sheppard
- Healey should be Healy
- Brizzalara should be Brizzolara
- Bonjers should be Bongers
Given name initial errors on the memorial:
- W. C. Bartlet should be W. G.
- C. Buffery should be G.
- W. N. Clasper should be W. U.
- C. Derome should be G.
- N. Hahn should be H.
- W. C. Hatton should be W. G.
- E. Lamb should be R. E. H.
- J. A. Mcsparron should be A. J.
Further reading