Cairns War Memorial - Esplanade, Cairns, QLD, Australia
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denben
S 16° 55.042 E 145° 46.523
55K E 369582 N 8129180
The Cairns War Memorial was erected to the memory of those who fell in the Great War (1914-1918). Facing Trinity Bay to the north-east, it is located in a park reserve on the Esplanade near the junction with Florence Street.
Waymark Code: WMVDD8
Location: Queensland, Australia
Date Posted: 04/04/2017
Views: 4
"The Cairns War Memorial has social and spiritual significance for having been built as the focus of commemoration of the Cairns region's service and loss in World War One. Reflecting the region's participation in the Great War, a major event in Australian and world history, the memorial possesses historical significance. The scale of the structure helps to convey the war's impact at the time. Owing to its height and its location in popular parkland on the Cairns seaside, the memorial is a landmark in the city. Combining the digger and clocktower styles of memorial design, the Cairns monument is the only one of its type in Queensland.
The imposing 13m high sandstone monument comprises a tall clocktower surmounted by a life sized statue of an Australian infantryman standing at ease and looking out to sea. It is the only memorial of this combined soldier clocktower design in the State. The monument stands on a granite base and concrete steps. Four leaded, marble plates are recessed behind red granite columns around the base of the clocktower. These bear copious memorial inscriptions as well as the names of the 142 locals (including two women) who fell in World War One. The tower has AIF badges carved on all faces and originally had a four faced electric clock, which served as the town clock. The clock is now missing and the four sides of the clock space have had clock faces painted on, with the hands showing 4.28, the dawn time that Australians landed at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915. A time capsule was placed in the original foundation and was replaced by another time capsule following re-location. The monument is now flanked by two guns, one being an old naval gun dating to 1900. The memorial is now surrounded by concrete fence posts and a path. Around the memorial is the attractive, seaside Esplanade parkland with its lawns, coconut palms and other trees; the area is heavily frequented by Cairns visitors and, no doubt, locals."
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