State War Memorial WA

Over the past few weeks I have been working on the State War Memorial Collection.  The collection contains correspondence, programmes, maps and drawings, agreements and reports to do with the memorial and its origins.  The Memorial is modelled on the Australian Imperial Force Memorials erected in France and Belgium and its form as a monument over a utilitarian memorial was widely debated at the time.

In 1924, Western Australia was without a State Memorial.  A committee was formed by the government at the time to develop a memorial but failed to achieve its objectives.  The League proposed to set up another committee made up of representatives from various associations with the goal of setting up a suitable memorial to the fallen in the Great War.

The meeting was called on Wednesday, February 11^th at 3pm.  William Lathlain was elected chairman of the newly formed State War Memorial Committee and an appeal was launched.

The funding for the memorial was through public subscription.  The need for a memorial was never debated, but its form was debated between a monument and a more utilitarian model such as a hospital.  Premier Philip Collier was opposed to the structure of the memorial, strongly supporting a memorial in the form of a hospital.  In correspondence within the collection it is remarked that Collier looked at the memorial as a ‘pile of stones’.

The location of the memorial at Kings Park was also suggested as unsuitable for the memorial, it was suggested that the memorial could detract from rather than add to the beauty of the park.

Despite the debate, the public did subscribe to the memorial and the work began under the direction of Sir Talbot Hobbs, who was appointed as the architect.  The memorial was unveiled on the 24^th of November 1929 and custody of the memorial was vested in the League.  Each year the League appoints a warden to oversee the care and use of the memorial.  Over the years the memorial has been extended, in terms of its structure and in the addition of names.  The memorial stands proudly overlooking Perth attracting visitors from all over the world and is a central part of ANZAC Day services and Remembrance Day.