The gilded inscription on the grey marble base of the block reads:
"Erected by
Residents of Karuah and their Friends
in Honour of the Brave Men who Answered
their Country's call and Fought in the
World's Great War. 1914 - 1918"
The front of the World's Great War Memorial at Karuah
Unveiled, and Dedicated: 21 December, 1918
WOW! On researching, this could be one of the FIRST memorials erected for those who served in World War One (as 'we' know it), or 'The Great World War', as it was known in the second decade of last century. From the Monuments Australia website, quoting the Dungog Chronicle newspaper of December, 1918:
"Some time ago Mrs W. Longworth, of "Glenroy," took in hand the task of raising funds for the erection of an Honour Roll to perpetuate the memory of the soldiers who left that district to fight in the great war, and on Saturday last, the success of her efforts was crowned by the unveiling of a beautiful memorial, erected on the reserve overlooking the river and bay, at that charming locality. The Roll of Honour comprises a solid block of granite, mounted on concrete foundations, and surmounted by a recumbent lion.
"Mrs Longworth, in unveiling the Roll of Honour, in an eloquent address, paid a high tribute to the valor of the Australian soldiers, whose noble deeds would live as long as history was recorded, and she thanked the local committee and others who had laboured to have the memorial erected. The memorial was erected by the firm of Meldrum and Markey, Newcastle, and the hon. secretary to the movement Miss Hagan, of Karuah." 24 December, 1918, 'Dungog Chronicle', ex Monuments Australia: Karuah War Memorial.
On the right-hand side (southern face), below the lion's head, is the following gilded inscription:
This
Roll of Honour
was
unveiled by
Mrs W Longworth
on 21st Dec.1918
While on the reverse side is the 'non-alphabetical' Roll of Honour, with those who gave their lives, given an asterisk:
For God and the Empire
S. Lilley Knight C. Laverick * N. Keith
C. Peachy G. Blanch * R. Rooke
A. Johnson * P. Blanch * B. Marr
A. Linich A. Lilley Knight * T. Ibbotson
J. Barrett S. Davis F. Clarke
J. Milton F. Morris E. Blanch
C. Hyde L. Benson A. Farley
T. Walsh G. Witt * J. New
Greater love hath no man than this that a man lay
down his life for his friends.
Visited: 0650, Friday, 11 November, 2016