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Cronulla War Memorial

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Collection SummaryCronulla War Memorial was erected in 1923 in tribute to the men from the local area who served during the First World War. It stands in Monro Park, Cronulla, and functions as a focal point of commemoration for annual Anzac Day services.HistoryIn March 1922, the Cronulla War Memorial Fund offered a prize of ten guineas for ‘the accepted design of a suitable memorial, such as an arch, entrance gates, pavilion, fountain, or obelisk, to cost not more than £600.’ Nine months later it was announced that William Martin, an architect from Glebe Point, had won the tender.

Martin’s design is described in Marilyn Handley and Susanne Hewitt’s book, Service and Sacrifice, as consisting of ‘an obelisk on a sandstone base, a sandstone block mid-section and a polished-trachyte column that was crowned with an orb and a cross’. Orbs represented loyalty to the British monarchy, whilst obelisks – being both non-sectarian and an easily identifiable symbol of war service – were one of the most common forms of war memorials used in Australia.

In July 1923 the St George Call newspaper requested that the ‘names of those who enlisted and embarked from Australia, from the area, including Cronulla, Burraneer, Caringbah, and up to Kareena Road’ be forwarded to Mr W. Edwards of Gerrale Street, Cronulla, for inclusion on the memorial. In the end, the names of eighty-three local men were engraved in gold lettering on the memorial’s four marble tablets.

Cronulla War Memorial originally stood in, what became, the middle of the road near the intersection of Curranulla Street (Cronulla Mall) and The Kingsway. In 1926 a protective fence and chain railing were added; even so, the memorial became a traffic hazard. Therefore in 1940 authorities decided to have the monument relocated to Monro Park, opposite Cronulla railway station. Tensions arose amongst members of the community and Cronulla RSL sub-branch who objected to the fact that the new surroundings for the memorial were not to be called ‘Anzac Memorial Park’. Instead the area was named after long-time Sutherland Shire Councillor, Cecil Monro, in recognition of his work in bringing about the construction of the railway to Cronulla. Incidentally, Councillor Monro’s wife, Amy, had been one of the most active and dedicated fundraisers for the construction of the Cronulla War Memorial until her death in 1923.

In March 1941, Councillor Monro read the following dedication at the Cronulla War Memorial in front of a large gathering, including many returned servicemen and member of the RSL: 'The Council appreciates the sincere wish of your members to be the nominal custodians of this Memorial of your comrades with whom you fought in the last war. The citizens who were responsible for its erection did so in order that an everlasting monument would be forever prominently displayed to remind us, our children, and future generations of the sacrifice made by those whose names are engraved on it in letters of gold.'

Photograph

War memorial at the intersection of Cronulla Street and The Kingsway, Cronulla, 4 May 1929

Cronulla Picture Theatre on Curranulla Street (now Cronulla Street or Mall) with Soldiers' Monument to the left between 1928 and 1939

Person

Joe Monro

Map

Locality plan of the North Cronulla Beach Estate Cronulla

Details

CategoryMemorialGeolocation^[1]

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PlacesCronullaSubjectsCronulla War Memorial (N.S.W.)War memorials -- New South Wales -- CronullaWar MemorialsMonuments -- New South Wales -- CronullaCronulla - Monro ParkMonro Park (Cronulla, N.S.W.)Monro, C. O. J. (Cecil Owen James)

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