Balwyn Historical Society- Balwyn War Memorial

In June 1916, the newly formed Balwyn Progress Association sent a deputation to the Camberwell City Council to urge the Council to acquire land for a park in the vicinity of what was then called One Tree Hill. This land was subsequently purchased. The eucalypt which gave rise to the name One Tree Hill still stands in the park close to the east gate into Maranoa Gardens.

In June 1917, the Reserves Committee of the Council proposed that the park be named Beckett Park after Robert Beckett who had died a few weeks earlier. Robert Beckett had been a highly respected Camberwell Councillor and a Member of the Legislative Council.

The Soldiers’ Memorial

In August 1917, Mr Le Leu submitted to the Council a sketch of a marble and concrete monument to honour soldiers from the area who had served abroad with the AIF (Australian Imperial Forces) during the First World War.

The proposed monument would be 10 feet high and 7 feet wide and cost about 60 pounds.

While Council granted permission for the erection of such a monument, it did not agree to the Balwyn Progress Association’s proposal to change the name of Beckett Park to Soldiers’ Park.

By 1918 a site for the monument had been selected in Beckett Park and contributions toward the cost were sought from the local community.

On 20 April 1918, a ceremony marked the turning of the first sod by the then Mayor, Cr. F. W. Vear, and work on the monument commenced.

The Soldiers’ Memorial was unveiled with much fanfare by Governor Stanley in 1919.

The monument was faced with briagalong stone in 1936 and a small plaque was later added to honour those who served in World War 2, Malaya, Borneo, Korea and Vietnam.

This information has been compiled from newspaper articles donated by Ken Lyall.

• Balwyn Historical Society http://home.vicnet.net.au/~balwynhs/newsletters/letters/articles_08-09.pdf