Heidelberg Memorial Unveiled.
Erected by public subscription in the grounds of the shire hall, Heidelberg’s memorial to her fallen soldiers was unveiled by His Excellency the Governor yesterday afternoon. It consists of a granite obelisk, and bears the names of 29 soldiers from the district who lost their lives in the Great War. Three of them had decorations. The president of the shire (Councillor W. Rank) received His Excellency on a temporary dais placed by the memorial, and among those present were the Federal member for the district (Mr. Anstey, M.H.R..), Mr. J. G. Membrey, ex-M.L.A., and a former chairman of the State War Council, representatives of the clergy, and many relatives of the fallen soldiers. On the arrival of the Governor a huge gathering of school children sang the National Anthem.
After unveiling the memorial and thanking the gathering for the welcome given to him, His Excellency said that in several cases the names on the obelisk were similar, and he presumed that the soldiers had be- longed to the same families. It was especially sad that some families had been so hard hit by this war, while others from which five or six members had gone out had been fortunate enough to have them all come home. These memorials, which were set up all over the country, would remind us, not only how these men had carried out their duly, but also of the duty we had to carry out in civil life.
Lieutenant-Colonel C. A. Courtney gave an address, and after two verses of Kipling’s Recessional hymn had been sung by the school children, the sounding of the Last Post and the Reveille concluded the brief proceedings.
The Argus June 21, 1921 p. 6
Photo: Heidelberg War Memorial 1921 (Heidelberg Historical Society in partnership with Yarra Plenty Regional Library) Photo HHS_0057
This story was first published in “Fine Spirit and Pluck: World War One Stories from Banyule, Nillumbik and Whittlesea” published by Yarra Plenty Regional Library, August 2016
