Safety concerns have prompted the Adamstown Anzac Committee to scout a new home for the town’s war memorial.
Committee president Gerrard Williams told Newcastle Weekly the move, which was estimated to cost about $100,000, to Adamstown No.1 Oval was supported by Newcastle council, which owned the land; Newcastle federal MP Sharon Claydon; and the Merewether-Hamilton-Adamstown RSL sub-Branch.
He said the committee would now look to secure funding through corporate sponsorships, state and federal grants, as well assistance from the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, with the aim of moving the war memorial by Remembrance Day.
The memorial currently sits adjacent to Newcastle Healthcare on Brunker Road.
It was rededicated there in 1960 after it was originally built on the corner of Glebe and Brunker roads, where the Adamstown Markets are held.
But, after the closure of Adamstown RSL Club – where the medical centre now stands – in 2015, its current location no longer makes any historical sense.
Mr Williams said “enough was enough” after the RSL sub-Branch’s Remembrance Day service last year.
“We probably had about 500 people crammed into that small area, on a main road that we couldn’t close,” he said.
“I was constantly worried about the children.
“I thought, ‘The time has come [to act]’.”
The new site, on the corner of Glebe Road and Bryant Street, has already been scoped by an engineering firm and artists’ impressions have been drawn up.
Mr Williams said the new-and-improved memorial would be bordered by rosemary originating from Gallipoli, as well as a Lone Pine.
He hoped after-hours lighting emanating from the 7-Eleven opposite the site would deter any potential vandals.
But perhaps his highest hope was that the move would inspire younger generations, including relatives of war veterans and current servicemen and women, to carry on the Anzac legacy.
“Most of the [veterans] are in their nineties; even the Vietnam guys have thinned out,” he said.
“We’re light on the ground now, so it’s vitally important for the younger generations to get involved.
“It’s the march of time.”
The RSL sub-Branch commemorated Anzac Day today (Thursday 25 April) with a morning march and service after last year’s event was cancelled due to the frailness of its veterans.
To get in touch in regards to funding for the war memorial, visit the Anzac Adamstown Committee Facebook page or phone Gerrard Williams on 0402 029 222.
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