Forest Hill War Memorial 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 Gordon Street, Forest Hill,

Lockyer Valley Region The Lockyer Valley Region is a local government area in the West Moreton region of South East Queensland, Australia, between the cities of Ipswich and Toowoomba. It was created in 2008 from a merger of the Shire of Gatton and the Shire of Laidl ...

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 built in 1921. It is also known as Forest Hill Soldiers Memorial. 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

The Forest Hill War Memorial was erected by the Forest Hill Memorial League in 1921, in a small reserve adjacent to the railway line. The memorial was unveiled on 26 March 1921. The township of Forest Hill developed during the 1890s, following the repurchase by the

Queensland Government The Queensland Government is the democratic administrative authority of the Australian state of Queensland. The Government of Queensland, a parliamentary constitutional monarchy was formed in 1859 as prescribed in its Constitution, as amended fr ...

of from the

Rosewood Rosewood refers to any of a number of richly hued timbers, often brownish with darker veining, but found in many different hues. True rosewoods All genuine rosewoods belong to the genus ''Dalbergia''. The pre-eminent rosewood appreciated in ...

station. Although the Ipswich to Toowoomba railway had been surveyed between Laidley and Gatton in 1865, it was not until that a siding was established in the Forest Hill area. Originally known as Boyd's siding, it was shifted to the site of the present Forest Hill railway station . As the surrounding country was progressively opened and settled by farmers, Forest Hill became a busy transport centre for agricultural produce, often requiring special trains to be run from Forest Hill. The masons for the monument were PJ Lowther and Sons of

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 ...

, who were also responsible for memorials in Brisbane (the pedestal for the South African memorial), Blackbutt,

Murgon Murgon is a rural town and locality in the South Burnett Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Murgon had a population of 2,378 people. Geography Murgon is in the region of Queensland known as the South Burnett, the southern ...

Goodna Goodna is a suburb on the eastern edge of the City of Ipswich in Queensland, Australia. In the , Goodna had a population of 10,461 people. Geography Goodna is from the Brisbane central business district, being just outside the Brisbane City C ...

, Mount Perry and

Tiaro Tiaro is a rural town and locality in the Fraser Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Tiaro had a population of 758 people. Geography The town is on the Mary River. It is situated on the Bruce Highway south of Mar ...

. It is possible that the monument was actually carved by Charles Lowther, sculptor son of this Brisbane masonry family, and an ex-serviceman who fought with the

Australian Light Horse Australian Light Horse were mounted troops with characteristics of both cavalry and mounted infantry, who served in the Second Boer War and World War I. During the inter-war years, a number of regiments were raised as part of Australia's part-ti ...

in the First World War. The monument cost , and was unveiled by five mothers of fallen soldiers. A plate with the names of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

servicemen was added at a later stage.

Description

StateLibQld 2 72203 First World War memorial monument in Forest Hill

The Forest Hill War Memorial is located in a small park at the end of Victoria Street, completing a vista down the town's main street. The finely carved memorial stands approximately four and a half metres high, and consists of a life-size grey sandstone Digger statue on a tall sandstone

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 ...

. The statue faces eastwards, in the direction of an adjacent steel flagstaff. The site is marked out with small steel fence posts and chains. The pedestal rests on a

plinth 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 c ...

of blocked rusticated brown sandstone on a stepped concrete base. The lower portion of the pedestal is columnar, with leaded marble plaques, and rests on a block with shaped corners. The upper portion has a central wreathed

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. ...

surrounded by colonnettes, and the statue is mounted on rounded base which caps the colonnettes. The memorial contributes to the townscape of Forest Hill in its axial location at the end of the main street.

Heritage listing

Forest Hill War Memorial 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 Forest Hill War Memorial is important in demonstrating the pattern of Queensland's history as evidence of an era of widespread expression of

Australian patriotism Australian patriotism is patriotism involving cultural attachment of Australians to Australia as their homeland. Australian patriotism has been identified by some as distinct from Australian nationalism because of the emphasis of Australian patr ...

and

nationalism Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a in-group and out-group, group of peo ...

, during and following the First World War. The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places. As a "Digger" statue, it demonstrates the principal characteristics of a commemorative structure erected as an enduring record of a major historical event. The place is important because of its aesthetic significance. It exhibits aesthetic characteristics which are valued by the community, in particular the fine craft work of the sandstone carving and the aesthetic contribution of the monument to the townscape of Forest Hill in a vista down the main street. The place has a strong or special association with a particular community or cultural group for social, cultural or spiritual reasons. It has a strong association with the community as evidence of the impact of a major historical event.

References

Attribution

External links

{{Commons category-inline, Forest Hill War Memorial Queensland Heritage Register Forest Hill, Queensland World War I memorials in Queensland Articles incorporating text from the Queensland Heritage Register World War II memorials in Queensland