Broken Hill War Memorial Oval

The memorial oval is a living memorial to the members of the armed services who paid the supreme sacrifice in the Second World War. On top of a hill overlooking the oval, opposite the grandstand, is a tower built with Besser bricks. There are steps leading up to the tower, and within a fenced area surrounding it are field pieces on its north and south sides. The five trees at the rear of the monument are descendants of the Lone Pine at Anzac Cove and were planted around 1970. They represent all the major conflicts up to and including the Vietnam War.

Around 1938, improvements to the oval, then known as the Western Oval and considered to be a dustbowl, were commenced as a combined venture between the Mining Managers' Association and the Unions. However, little progress was made due to the outbreak of the Second World War. It was not until after the war that work commenced in earnest. The first stage was the removal of the old stand, a rickety structure which was termite infested and a danger to all who used it. Then work had to be done on the oval itself, as it was badly out of level. To restore it, a great deal of earth had to be removed by contractor Mr. Les Radford. This entailed a great deal of expense and the limited resources of the Memorial Oval Management Committee rapidly dwindled. There were plans to turf the oval and create a cycling track and a trotting track, but finance was a limiting factor. The Mining Managers' Association contributed heavily by having master plans drawn up and lending aid in a variety of ways. The Committee at this stage decided to try and make the oval a community project and attract community funds.

A memorial tower, similar in design to the war memorial at Tobruk, was constructed on the brow of the hill in a commanding position on the oval. The cost of the memorial left the Committee with little funds to progress, let alone meet the regular maintenance needs of the oval. An approach was made to the Barrier Industrial Council, and in 1947 it authorised the deduction from unionists' wages of one penny in the pound up to one shilling per fortnight to go to the Memorial Oval Fund. This enabled improvements to the oval to be undertaken.

Sources: Barrier Daily Truth Broken Hill, 11 February 1947; 7 March 1957. Barrier Miner Broken Hill, 7 April 2006. War Memorials in Australia website.