Armadale war memorial’s genesis forged 100 years ago

Friday 12 August, marks 100 years since the first foundation stone was laid at the City of Armadale war memorial, one of the earliest built in Western Australia to honour soldiers who fought in World War One.

Located in what is now Memorial Park, the concept of a brick obelisk was proposed by a group of Armadale residents, businesses and community groups who formed a Roll of Honour Committee in April 1916.

The decision to erect a monument before the war had officially ceased (November 1918) was reportedly due to local concerns that Armadale soldiers departing for the war prior to 1916 were not given an official send-off.

The committee approached the Road Board in June 1916 for permission to build the obelisk opposite the railway station at the intersection of Fourth Road and Eleventh Avenue. The Board supported the proposal and agreed to take responsibility for the memorial once it was built.

Marian Cullen, wife of Committee Secretary Herbert Dale Cullen, laid the first brick, before a brick was laid by a child from each of the five schools of the district.

Mrs Cullen was presented with a “handsome” trowel as a memento of the occasion. This trowel now sits on display in the History House Museum.

It took four months to build the obelisk, constructed from brick, “burnt from the clay of our own hills” (Carter, 2011, p.160) and steps of granite hewn from the Boya quarries.

It was officially unveiled on 16 December 1916 by Governor Sir Harry Barron, and the obelisk continued to serve as a source of pride for Armadale residents.

William James George MLA, who had lost his 20-year-old son in the Gallipoli campaign, was present at the unveiling and said:
The people of Armadale were beginning to think of their men not merely as so many units across the seas, but as persons belonging to them and fighting their battles.

Reference:
Carter, J. and B. (2011). Settlement to City: A history of the Armadale district and its people. City of Armadale, p. 159-162.