Berry & MacFarlane Monument is a heritage-listed

memorial A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects or works of a ...

at Sherwood Road, Sherwood, Queensland, Australia. It was built in 1902. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992.

History

This monument was erected in July 1902 by friends of two young soldiers, Sergeant Robert Edwin Berry (aged 23 years) and Acting Corporal John MacFarlane (aged 21 years), who were killed in action at Onverwacht in the

Republic of Transvaal The South African Republic ( nl, Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek, abbreviated ZAR; af, Suid-Afrikaanse Republiek), also known as the Transvaal Republic, was an independent Boer Republic in Southern Africa which existed from 1852 to 1902, when it ...

on 4 January 1902. The Berry family had long been resident in the Sherwood district, and were closely associated with St Matthew's Anglican Church in Sherwood Road (destroyed by fire in 1921). Both young men were members of the 5th Queensland Imperial Bushmen and, like all Australian troops participating in the

South African War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

( Boer War) of 1899–1902, were volunteers. As members of the QIB, however, they were under British command, and their pay was issued by the colonial government at English cavalrymen's rates. The monument was carved by the masonry firm of W. Batstone & Sons of South Brisbane, and was erected in the grounds of

St Matthew's Anglican Church ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy ...

and Cemetery at Sherwood. The monument was unveiled by the Queensland Premier, Robert Philp, on Saturday 21 June 1902. It is one of few South African War monuments erected in Queensland. Amongst these, other Brisbane memorials include the

Caskey Monument Caskey Monument is a heritage-listed memorial at the Toowong Cemetery, 124 Birdwood Terrace, Toowong, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was designed and built by William Busby in 1902. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register ...

(1902) in Toowong Cemetery, the

Anning Monument Anning Monument is a heritage-listed memorial at the corner of Hemmant and Tingalpa Road and Boonoo Street, Hemmant, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was designed and built by William Busby in 1903. It is also known as Hemmant Boer ...

(1903) at Hemmant and the South African War Memorial (1919) in Anzac Square, Brisbane.

Description

Berry and MacFarlane Monument plaques, 2014

The sandstone monument is located near the front entrance gate of the Sherwood Anglican Cemetery, facing east. It stands high, and consists of a pedestal on a stepped sandstone base, rising to an obelisk draped by a tasselled shroud. Crossed rifles are carved in relief on the front face of the obelisk, which features a small

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, around the top edge of a ...

midway. The pedestal has two inscribed, leaded marble plates, and is ornamented with a trooper's hat and crossed swords in high relief at the base, and a rose and leaf design around the top. The pedestal shows signs of spalling at the base, partly caused by the monument having been painted, and the relief detail is weathered. Originally the monument was surrounded by a stone kerbing and six posts linked by rails, with marble chips inside the border. The memorial now stands borderless and within two metres of the more recently erected columbarium.

Heritage listing

Berry & MacFarlane Monument was listed on the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992 having satisfied the following criteria. The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history. The Berry & MacFarlane Monument at Sherwood, erected in 1902, is significant historically as an expression of emergent

Australian nationalism Flag of Australia Australian nationalism asserts that the Australians are a nation and promotes the national and cultural unity of Australia. Australian nationalism has a history dating back to the late 19th century as Australia gradually dev ...

in the earliest years of federation. The place demonstrates rare, uncommon or endangered aspects of Queensland's cultural heritage. It is a rare Queensland South African War monument, and a unique source of historical information. The place is important because of its aesthetic significance. It is a skilfully executed example of its type, and a good example of the work of prominent Brisbane monumental masons W. Batstone & Sons. The place has a special association with the life or work of a particular person, group or organisation of importance in Queensland's history. It is a skilfully executed example of its type, and a good example of the work of prominent Brisbane monumental masons W. Batstone & Sons.

References

Attribution

External links

{{Australian war memorials Queensland Heritage Register Heritage of Brisbane Sherwood, Queensland Articles incorporating text from the Queensland Heritage Register 1902 establishments in Australia Second Boer War memorials in Queensland