Miranda War Memorial

Seymour Shaw Park, Miranda

George Stevens had been a teacher at Miranda Central Public School since 1909 when he enlisted for service in World War 1. He was subsequently killed in action in 1916. Many past pupils, also close relatives of the children at the school, were involved in action overseas. The school community contributed to the war effort by knitting garments and sending parcels. The P & C then decided to raise money for a monument with an Honour Roll to display the names of those associated with the school who had served in the war. The school fence was to be altered so that people passing could read the names on the Honour Roll.

The memorial was built and erected by stonemason John Gregg Dunlop of  Sylvania, assisted by Messers Cole, Lawrence, Luxton, Shepherd and Towle at a cost of £25. Headmaster Walter Chiplin remodelled the surrounding garden and gravel path.

On Saturday 3^rd August 1918 the Memorial was unveiled before a large crowd by the Minister for Education Mr James. There was a Boy Scout Guard of Honour and music provided by Kogarah School Band. Headmaster Walter Chiplin addressed the gathering, speaking of former pupils who had served and, in some cases, never returned.    

The statue of a soldier stood at the top of the memorial. It was moulded from cement and reinforced with steel and was the work of bricklayer George Evans. The statue caused much controversy in the district as many thought it was ugly and demanded it be removed. Photo: Sutherland Shire Library Local Studies Collection

By 1920 the soldier had mysteriously disapperared from the top of the memorial. Rumours abounded and it was believed to have been removed and buried by some of those who had been objecting to its placement on top of the memorial. However during the following three years the statue reappeared several times, once being paraded through Miranda in a horse drawn wagon.

Photo: Sutherland Shire Library Local Studies Collection

In 1952 the Infants Department and Primary Girls of Miranda Public school were relocated to new premises on the corner of the Kingsway and Sylva Ave. This was followed ten years later by the Primary Boys. The RSL considered the new school site unsuitable for the memorial so requested it be relocated to the cul-de-sac at the end of  Central Avenue in 1968, when the school site was sold to the developers of the then Miranda Fair shopping centre.  

By 2013, with further development in the area, the memorial was now surrounded by a round-about. Another move was desirable to a safer and more accessible site. It was decided to take the memorial further back into Seymour Shaw Park to provide a calmer location and a place where the large crowd at each Dawn Service could be accommodated.  

The final move was completed in time for the Dawn service of 2014.  A memorial wall was added to commemorate conflicts since 1918. The Leader of 19 February 2014  gives a brief history of the memorial in which is stated  The heritage listed sandstone memorial is the site of NSW’s largest Anzac Day Dawn Service outside the Sydney central business district, often attracting more than 5,000 people.  

To discover more details of the servicemen named on this memorial click on the heading, then on to one on the names listed 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:

Miranda Public School, 100 Years, 1893 – 1993

Service and Sacrifice, Sutherland Shire Memorials 1914-1918

http://monumentaustralia.org.au/display/22136-miranda-war-memorial

http://www.theleader.com.au/story/2093365/miranda-anzac-memorial-on-the-move/

https://www.warmemorialsregister.nsw.gov.au/content/miranda-war-memorial