Cronulla War Memorial
Cronulla Street, Monro Park, Cronulla
Cronulla War Memorial was originally located at the intersection of the
Kingsway and Curranulla Street, now Cronulla Mall. Funds were raised by the
community for the construction of a memorial at the conclusion of World War
1 to commemorate those who had served.
In December 1922 architect and town planner William Martin won the
tender to design and construct the memorial which was completed about August
1923. The names of eighty three service men, either living in, or having an
association with the area were engraved in gold lettering on the four marble
tablets of the memorial. In 1926 a
sandstone wall and lights were added, then in 1937, an illuminated crown of
coloured lights was also added to celebrate the coronation of King George
V1.
War Memorial at the intersection of Kingsway and Curranulla St, 1929. Sutherland
Shire Library Local Studies Collection.
By 1939 the monument
was considered to be in a dangerous position. A decision was made to
relocate to the old Cronulla school site which was to be renamed Anzac
Memorial Park. Many community objections were raised, especially by the
Cronulla sub-branch of the Returned Sailors and Soldiers Imperial League of
Australia when the Council decided the park would be named Monro Park.
However the relocation went ahead. On 23 March 1941 a large crowd was
present for the dedication of the monument and transfer of custodianship, by
Councillor Monro, to the RSSAILA’s Cronulla Sub-Branch.
In 2012 funding from Veteran
affairs was received for eight new plaques which were added in 2013
commemorating conflicts since WW1.
To discover more details of the servicemen named on this memorial click on
the heading, then on to one of the names at the bottom of the page.
Biographies of these servicemen can be found in SERVICE
AND SACRIFICE, Sutherland Shire Memorials 1914-1918, by
Marilyn Handley and Susanne Hewitt, 2015, available from Botany Bay Family History
Society, 02 9523 8948, P.O. Box 1006, Sutherland, NSW, 1499.
References:
Service and Sacrifice Sutherland Shire Memorials,
Marilyn Handley & Sue Hewitt, 2015.
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/17677445
http://monumentaustralia.org.au/display/20957-cronulla-war-memorial
https://www.warmemorialsregister.nsw.gov.au/content/cronulla-war-memorial
