Bundaberg War Memorial
Bundaberg Regional CouncilThe local Soldiers' Reception Committee initiated the idea for the statue and local architect F.H. (Frederic Herbert) Faircloth was commissioned to design the memorial.
General Sir William Birdwood officially laid the foundation stone on 15 May 1920, witnessed by a crowd of several hundred despite it being a damp day.
Carved from a solid two-ton block, the digger statue was made of Carrara marble by the firm Anselm, Odling and Sons, and stands 7 feet (2.1 metres) high. The entire memorial cost approximately 1885 pounds and was unveiled debt-free due to the efforts of the Soldiers' Reception Committee and locals.
Bundaberg's War Memorial is unusual in several ways, including the use of trachyte, the backpack carried by the digger, its setting in an intersection, and as an example of Faircloth's work.
It featured in the 1921 ANZAC Day ceremony even though the soldier had not yet arrived in Bundaberg. On 5 July 1921 the soldier was delivered to Bundaberg and on 7 July 1921 it was placed on top of the memorial. Major General Charles Brand officially unveiled the completed memorial on 30 July 1921.
Sources:
Browne, Peta. "Fallen Soldier's Memorial Statue" in Arts Bundaberg, v5 #2 Dec 2008-Mar 2009. Available: http://library.bundaberg.qld.gov.au
"Bundaberg War Memorial". Queensland Heritage Register. Available: https://www.qld.gov.au/environment/land/heritage/register
