War Memorials in Australia
Frequently Asked Questions
How many war
memorials are there in Australia?
When this
project commenced I read that there may be between 4,000 and 5,000 memorials in
Australia. That figure may have referred to outdoor memorials but by including
honour boards, plaques and anything else that can be considered a war memorial
that figure can now be seen as a low estimate. There are in excess of
6,200
memorials in the index to date and there are many more to be included.
I have no idea what the eventual total will be.
Who owns
all the war memorials?
Most monuments erected after
the Boer War and World War I were put up by local communities. Committees
were organised to raise funds, approve design and commission construction.
The Commonwealth and States did not provide any funding although some municipal
councils in Victoria did. The monuments were built on land provided by the
Shire, the State, the Commonwealth Government (in front of Post Offices etc.) or
by private individuals. Once the monument was dedicated and the cost paid
off the committees usually dissolved. No-one seemed to actually "own" the
monument itself other than the community at large. Various RSL sub-branches and
other organisations have taken on the duties of custodians but as some of these
lose members and dissolve the question of who is responsible for the upkeep of a
memorial sometimes becomes a problem. For memorials built in more recent
years the custody arrangements are more formal such as those memorials in
Canberra which are the responsibility of the National Capital Authority.
Who
decided which names would go on a particular memorial?
As stated above, the erection
of war memorials after World War I was nearly always a community effort. The way
in which names were gathered differed from place to place as did the criteria
for inclusion. Using Braidwood NSW as an example, soldiers who were born
in Braidwood, enlisted there or whose parents resided there at the outbreak of
war were eligible to have their names added to the honour roll. Sometimes names
were invited through newspaper articles or advertisements. In other cases
rolls were opened at the town hall and citizens were able to write in names of
relatives. There was sometimes uncertainty as to who was entitled to be
included and this could lead to confusion in later years when no other records
could be found in the district for a particular person named on the memorial.
Omissions also caused concern on occasion and there are numerous examples of
names that have been added at a later date, sometimes squeezed in. For
World War II and later wars there were more complete records for servicemen and
women and the process of collecting names was a bit easier.
Why do
some World War I memorials have the dates as 1914 - 1919 when the war ended in
1918?
Hostilities ended on 11
November 1918 when the Armistice came into force and many people saw this as the
end of the war. However it didn't officially cease until the Peace Treaty
Of Versailles was signed on 28 June 1919. Some communities in Australia
used 1918 as the year the war ended and some used 1919.
Why isn't the
memorial in my town listed in your index?
The database has been built up from various sources as well as personal records.
There are gaps in the records consulted so far and I have not visited all
locations in any one district. Further, many memorials such as honour boards are
inside locked buildings such as halls and churches and I have not been able to
gain access. Consequently there are many omissions.
The
memorial in my town is listed in your index but there is no detailed
description.
Doing the detailed descriptions
took Michal a lot of time. Some memorials have hundreds of names on them and the
transcription had to be done from photographs. Some names and initials
(especially C and G) are hard to read and had to be checked against other
sources such as nominal rolls. Michael had a number of valued contributors who
sent in details and he put them at the head of the work program. A large
quantity of details collected by Michal had not been entered to this website
before he died.
How do I
get from the index page to the detailed description page?
If the word 'View' appears
against Description on the index page, click on it and you will get the detailed
description page which has more information including inscriptions and names. If
'View' does not appear it means that the description has not yet been prepared.
You can also find which memorials have been described by clicking on the
appropriate state or territory on the Detailed
Descriptions contents page
My
relative should be listed on this memorial but he's not. Can you please arrange
for his name to be added?
No I cannot. This site
has no official standing and all it does is record exactly what is shown on the
memorial. If a name has been omitted or if it has been misspelt, the
matter should be taken up with the authority responsible for maintaining the
memorial which may be the Shire Council, an RSL Sub-Branch or some other body.
What
time does the New Age Expo start in the Healesville Memorial Hall next Sunday?
I have no idea. I photographed the outside of the hall some years ago and
recorded it as a war memorial. I live in Canberra, 600 kilometres away. How could I possibly know
details of activities going on in the hall?
I am at a loss to understand why these sorts of queries are addressed to me when all I
have done is record the memorial. I also receive questions which are obviously
meant to be asked of the Australian War Memorial (AWM). As stated above,
this site is not in any way associated with the AWM and questions meant for them
should be directed to
http://www.awm.gov.au/request
IIs your
site mainly a genealogical one?
No but I realise that many, if
not most, visitors to the site are looking for names for genealogical purposes.
For that reason I strive to be as accurate as possible in transcribing names.
If you want more information about a particular person please check sites such as the databases of the Australian
War Memorial or the National Archives of Australia or to a regional historical
society.
Why are
you doing this and how did you start?
I can't remember when I first
got interested in war memorials - I just always have been. It is the
notion of remembrance that appeals to me and the idea that we owe so much to the
people that the memorials honour. I also like them as objects, some of
them are beautiful and I enjoy looking at the statues. The idea of a book has
been in the back of my mind for ages but the difficulties are insurmountable.
The costs of publishing such a book, especially if it contained colour photos,
would be prohibitive. Moreover it would be out of date as soon as it was
printed because memorials are always being moved or added to and new memorials
are continually appearing. And then the Internet came along. Bingo!
Here was the answer and in 2000 I started the website. It takes a lot of
time and effort and without the unfailing support, encouragement and practical
assistance of my wife, I couldn't do it. It's lucky that we both enjoy
driving holidays so we combine the interest in memorials with other holiday
activities. Sometimes the holiday seems to consist of driving from one memorial
to the next but it still stays enjoyable and we both get a kick out of talking
to the people we meet as a result of our interest .
Do you receive
any funding?
Not a cent. I haven't
asked and I don't intend to unless the financial burden becomes too heavy.
It costs money to maintain this site but I have received mates' rates and other
invaluable assistance from Arthur Hutchcraft my original ISP who is
a Vietnam Veteran and strongly supportive.
Office PCs of Canberra
integrated the database and charged a discounted fee. I suspect they did
it for less than cost. A number of contributors have supplied CDs of
images, photographic prints or hard copy printouts at their own expense.
To all these people I give heartfelt thanks.