The First World War Honour Board 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 such as home ...

at the Lands Administration Building, 142 George Street, Brisbane City,

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

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

, Australia. It was designed by Alexander Robertson McKellar and built in 1917 by George Varley Boyce. 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 ...

on 21 October 1992.

History

The First World War Honour Board was erected by employees of the

Queensland Lands Department Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, ...

in 1917, as a tribute to fellow staff on active service. The overall design was created by Alexander Robertson McKellar, a draftsman in the lithographic branch of the survey section. The affixed metal plaque was designed by Arnold Vivan Thomas, the officer in charge of the lithographic branch. Manufacture was carried out at the Queensland Government railway workshops at

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...

, and the wood carving was crafted by noted local wood carver George Varley Boyce, who taught carving at

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

technical schools from c.1902 to 1916. The honour board was unveiled by the then

Governor of Queensland The governor of Queensland is the representative of the monarch, currently King Charles III, in the state of Queensland. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia, governor-general at the national level, the governor Governors of ...

, Sir

Hamilton Goold-Adams Sir Hamilton John Goold-Adams, (27 June 1858 – 12 April 1920) was an Irish soldier and colonial administrator, who served as Governor of Queensland from 1915 to 1920. He was married to Elsie Goold-Adams. Early life Born in the townland of ...

, on 2 May 1917. It remains a focus for

Anzac Day Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia, New Zealand and Tonga that broadly commemorates all Australians and New Zealanders "who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations" and "the contribution and ...

commemoration, with wreaths being laid before the honour board each April 25. The board was restored by the Lands Department in 1981.

Description

The honour board is affixed to the wall of the main corridor on the first floor of the Lands Administration Building in Brisbane, immediately opposite the George Street elevator. It is a large honour board, high by wide, constructed of Queensland silky oak. A central panel of red bean bears the Queensland coat of arms and the gold-painted names of 94 departmental staff and authorised surveyors who served in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. The surrounds are carved in a stippled pattern with lotus plants (an ancient symbol of sleep) in relief in the lower section. The latter rarely appear on Queensland war memorials. Within a rich moulding of laurel leaves in the upper left hand corner is an oval-shaped metal plaque depicting in

bas relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

a cavalry charge and infantry soldiers advancing in battle, intended to illustrate the different fighting units in action. A carved scroll unfolds from the plaque and bears the relief lettering Roll of Honour. The whole board is set into a simple frame.

Heritage listing

First World War Honour Board 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. * As a unique record in Queensland of participation and sacrifice in the First World War. * For its material richness, fine craftsmanship and unique design amongst Queensland war memorials. * As the only identified public work of local Brisbane wood carver George Varley Boyce. The place demonstrates rare, uncommon or endangered aspects of Queensland's cultural heritage. * As a unique record in Queensland of participation and sacrifice in the First World War. The place is important because of its aesthetic significance. * For its material richness, fine craftsmanship and unique design amongst Queensland war memorials. The place is important in demonstrating a high degree of creative or technical achievement at a particular period. * For its material richness, fine craftsmanship and unique design amongst Queensland war memorials. The place has a special association with the life or work of a particular person, group or organisation of importance in Queensland's history. * As the only identified public work of local Brisbane wood carver George Varley Boyce.

References

Attribution

External links

{{Commons category-inline, First World War Honour Board, Lands Administration Building Queensland Heritage Register Heritage of Brisbane World War I memorials in Queensland Articles incorporating text from the Queensland Heritage Register 1917 sculptures George Street, Brisbane