Terrazzo is an artificial stone made from composite materials poured in place or precast. Chips of marble, quartz, granite, glass, or other suitable material are placed in a cementitious binder for chemical strength. When set, the stone is polished. It was used in ancient Rome and revived in the 15th century by Venetian builders who couldn't afford to use solid marble. They mixed discarded marble chips with clay, then polished it to create a decorative, hardwearing floor surface. When professionally made, it is one of the most durable surfaces, impervious to water and stain damage.
George Lenard Illingworth Memorial Tablet
Terrazzo is an unusual material for a war memorial and those by M.W. Hardy stand apart for their aesthetics and technical skill. His Honour Rolls are beautifully detailed, testament to the patience it took to produce them. It is his Patents, combined with a high standard of workmanship, that are remarkable. Plus - Hardy used good quality stone.
In two dimensions, Hardy incorporated theatres of war, rifles, diggers and officers' hats, and upturned wreaths (a symbol of honour, endurance and sorrow), that tell more about the memorial beyond a list of names. Another device was to inscribe the names on a scroll, set between neo-classic columns with a black and white checked floor. The Australian flag and the British Union Jack are often displayed in blue, red and white marble. Hardy usually inscribed his name and Patent number on these monuments.
As at 2020, more than twenty war memorials and honour rolls by M.W. Hardy have been identified, in addition to numerous cemetery monuments.
Can you help us identify and record M.W. Hardy monuments in New South Wales? Email Sue Jackson-Stepowski
HONOUR ROLLS AND WAR MEMORIALS BY M.W. HARDY
Narrabri West Great War Memorial
Narrabri District School 1914 - 1919 Roll of Honour and Drinking Fountains
Narrabri Town Hall Clock Tower and Honour Rolls, now the Narrabri and District Soldiers' Memorial
George Lenard Illingworth Memorial Tablet
Methodist Church Honour Roll Narrabri (1916), not currently recorded on the NSW War Memorials Register
Edgeroi First World War Roll of Honour
Bullawa Creek Honour Roll (1917), location unknown, not currently recorded on the NSW War Memorials Register
Wee Waa Memorial Clock Tower and M.U.I.O.O.F First World War Honour Roll
Wee Waa Boer War Memorial Drinking Fountain
Rev. John Wilkinson Memorial Tablet , formerly located in the (now destroyed) Narrabri Methodist Church and relocated into storage at the rear of the Uniting Church
Loyal Pilliga Lodge First World War Honour Roll, not currently recorded on the NSW War Memorials Register
Lodge Wee Waa Roll of Honour, located in the Lodge Namoi Narrabri, not currently recorded on the NSW War Memorials Register
Warialda Public School First World War Honour Roll
Breeza War Memorial
Bundarra War Memorials
Duri First World War Honour Roll
Rydal War Memorial
Koloona Great War Honour Roll
Uralla Public School First World War Honour Roll
Wandsworth District Soldiers Memorial
Gravesend War Memorial (Obelisk needle)
Boomi and District Public School Great War Honour Roll
St David's Presbyterian Church (Parish of Uralla) First World War Honour Roll
Nullamanna First World War Honor Roll
Gunnedah Public School First World War Honour Roll
Come-by-Chance First World War Roll of Honor
honour rolls and war memorials reputedly by m.w. hardy
Warialda M.U.I.O.O.F Honour Roll (1918), not currently recorded on the NSW War Memorials Register
Warialda School of Arts (1915), not currently recorded on the NSW War Memorials Register
St Stephen's Presbyterian Church Great War Honour Roll, Warialda
and the St Stephen's Presbyterian Church 1914-1919 Honour Roll
Other known examples of Hardy’s work (as at 2020)
Grave of the children of Joseph Hall, Tamworth Cemetery (c1920)
D Woods monument, Tamworth Cemetery (referred by stonemason Sach Killam in 2020)
L R Gibson monument, Rookwood Monument Database (referred by stonemason Sach Killam in 2020)
