Caskey 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 the

Toowong Cemetery Toowong Cemetery is a heritage-listed cemetery on the corner of Frederick Street and Mt Coot-tha Road, Toowong, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was established in 1866 and formally opened in 1875. It is Queensland's largest cemet ...

, 124 Birdwood Terrace,

Toowong Toowong is a riverside suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Toowong had a population of 10,830 people. Geography Toowong is situated between Mount Coot-tha and the Brisbane River and is made up of rolling hills w ...

City of Brisbane The City of Brisbane is a local government area (LGA) which comprises the inner portion of the metropolitan area of Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, Australia. Its governing body is the Brisbane City Council. Unlike LGAs in the other mainl ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, Australia. It was designed and built by William Busby in 1902. It was added to the

Queensland Heritage Register The Queensland Heritage Register is a heritage register, a statutory list of places in Queensland, Australia that are protected by Queensland legislation, the Queensland Heritage Act 1992. It is maintained by the Queensland Heritage Council. As a ...

on 21 October 1992.

History

StateLibQld 2 105672 Lieutenant Lachlan J

This monument was erected at

in May 1902 in memory of Lieutenant Lachlan John Caskey, who was killed in action at Makari Drift,

Caledon River The Caledon River ( st, Mohokare) is a major river located in central South Africa. Its total length is , rising in the Drakensberg Mountains on the Lesotho border, flowing southwestward and then westward before joining the Orange River near Beth ...

, South Africa on 27 September 1901. He was 31 years old. Caskey was a member 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, was a volunteer. As a member of the QIB he was under British command, and his pay was issued by the colonial government at an English cavalryman's rate. The Caskey Monument is the first known South African War monument to be erected in Queensland. A design competition was won by prominent monumental mason William Busby, a public committee was established to raise the construction cost, and the project was sponsored by the Queensland Government. Caskey was a sportsman and school teacher, and his monument was unveiled by the Minister of Public Instruction. The Caskey Monument is one of only four known South African War monuments in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

, the others being the Berry and MacFarlane Monument (1902) at

Sherwood Sherwood may refer to: Places Australia *Sherwood, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane *Sherwood, South Australia, a locality *Shire of Sherwood, a former local government area of Queensland *Electoral district of Sherwood, an electoral district from ...

, the Anning Monument (1903) at

Hemmant Hemmant is a suburb of the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Hemmant had a population of 2,385 people. Geography Hemmant is by road east of the Brisbane CBD. Hemmant is bounded by the Brisbane River to the north and Bulimba ...

and the South African War Memorial (1919) in Anzac Square in the

Brisbane central business district Brisbane City is the central suburb and central business district of Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia. It is colloquially referred to as the "Brisbane CBD" or "the city". It is located on a point on the northern bank of the ...

. The design of the Caskey Monument, particularly the obelisk and draped shroud, appears to have been the model for the others. Another monument to Caskey, erected near

Allora Allora is a rural town and locality in the Southern Downs Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Allora had a population of 1,223 people. Geography Allora is on the Darling Downs in south-eastern Queensland, Australia, by ro ...

where he had taught, has been lost.

Description

The monument, which consists of an obelisk on a

pedestal A pedestal (from French ''piédestal'', Italian ''piedistallo'' 'foot of a stall') or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In ci ...

, is executed in Helidon sandstone and stands high. The white sandstone obelisk is draped in a shroud. A sword is carved in relief on the front face. Below it is a quill, a tribute to Caskey's academic achievements. On the west face are crossed tennis racquets and on the east, crossed cricket bats, acknowledging his sporting interests. This theme is continued with a football on the front of the pedestal. The pedestal also features recessed slabs of Italian marble on all sides, flanked by

column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...

s of brown sandstone. The front slab bears a leaded inscription. The monument is surrounded by a sandstone retaining wall.

Heritage listing

Caskey Monument was listed on the

on 21 October 1992 having satisfied the following criteria. The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history. The Caskey Monument at Toowong, (unusually, a Government sponsored memorial to an individual), is important as the first known South African War memorial in Queensland and a model for later monuments in this state. The place demonstrates rare, uncommon or endangered aspects of Queensland's cultural heritage. The Caskey Monument at Toowong, (unusually, a Government sponsored memorial to an individual), is important as the first known South African War memorial in Queensland and a model for later monuments in this state. The monument provides a unique source of historical information, and the design is important in illustrating the social fashion and attitudes of its era. The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places. The monument provides a unique source of historical information, and the design is important in illustrating the social fashion and attitudes of its era. The Caskey Monument at Toowong, (unusually, a Government sponsored memorial to an individual), is important as the first known South African War memorial in Queensland and a model for later monuments in this state. The place is important because of its aesthetic significance. The monument provides a unique source of historical information, and the design is important in illustrating the social fashion and attitudes of its era.

References

Attribution

External links

{{Australian war memorials Queensland Heritage Register History of Brisbane Toowong Articles incorporating text from the Queensland Heritage Register Second Boer War memorials in Queensland