Shire of Eltham War Memorial, Garden Hill, Kangaroo Ground. Vic.
Eltham District Historical SocietyIn 1918, local farmer Walter Whippell proposed and donated £50 to obtain a couple of acres of land on the summit of Garden Hill for the formation of a memorial park in honour of all the lads who had enlisted in the Great War and in which a monument could be erected to represent the whole Shire. At the time Kangaroo Ground was the seat of the Shire and the summit of Garden Hill offered panoramic views virtually across the entire shire. A further £50 was raised and two acres acquired in 1919 from owners Ruth Gosling, Alexander Mess, James Johnson Mess and Joseph Mess. In 1921, Mrs Franny White agreed to donate a small triangle of land from her adjoining property to facilitate access to the entrance. The Memorial Park was officially opened September 3, 1921 by Mr W.H. Everard, M.L.A..
In 1924 the Eltham Shire War Memorial League was formed to establish a War Memorial monument within the park. A small cairn and flagstaff were erected prior to Anzac Day that year and a design competition held for the final design. A design by architects Arthur Stephenson and Percy Meldrum based on a Scottish Watchtower, recognising Kangaroo Ground’s early Scottish settlers, was adopted in January 1925. It was built by George Rousell from stone quarried from Dr Ethel Osborne’s property in Kangaroo Ground. The Shire of Eltham War Memorial tower was unveiled on Remembrance Day, 1926 by the Governor-General, Lord Stonehaven.
A re-dedication ceremony was conducted on 16 November 1951 by Governor Sir Dallas Brooks, to recognise the fallen of both wars, with the inclusion of two new tablets above the doorway of the tower to honour the 28 men who gave their lives in the 1939-45 war. A further re-dedication ceremony took place with Governor John Landy on 8 November 2001 with the provision of two bronze plaques for the fallen in the Korea, Borneo, Malaya and Vietnam conflicts on either side of the doorway of the tower.
