Yeppoon War Memorial

Yeppoon War Memorial
Yeppoon War Memorial
	Yeppoon War Memorial, 2009
Location	Normanby Street, James Street and Anzac Parade, Yeppoon, Shire of Livingstone, Queensland, Australia
Coordinates	23°07′48″S150°44′47″E / 23.1299°S 150.7464°E Coordinates: 23°07′48″S150°44′47″E / 23.1299°S 150.7464°E
Design period	1919 - 1930s (interwar period)
Built	1921, 1984
Queensland Heritage Register
	Official name: Yeppoon War Memorial
Type	state heritage (landscape, built)
Designated	23 July 1999
Reference no.	602126
Significant period	1920s, 1950s, 1980s (fabric)
Significant components	memorial - cairn, memorial - obelisk, plaque, memorial - tree/avenue of trees
	Location of Yeppoon War Memorial in Queensland Yeppoon War Memorial (Australia)

Last updated February 24, 2019

Yeppoon War Memorial is a heritage-listed memorial avenue of trees in Normanby Street, James Street and Anzac Parade, Yeppoon, Shire of Livingstone, Queensland, Australia. It was built in 1921 and 1984. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 23 July 1999.^[1]

A memorial is an object which serves as a focus for the memory of something, usually a deceased person or an event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects or art objects such as sculptures, statues or fountains and parks.

The Shire of Livingstone is a local government area located in the Capricornia region of Central Queensland, Queensland, Australia, to the immediate north and east of the regional city of Rockhampton. The shire, administered from the coastal town of Yeppoon, covers an area of 11,776.3 square kilometres (4,546.9 sq mi), and existed as a local government entity from 1879 until 2008, when it amalgamated with several other councils to become the Rockhampton Region. The Shire was re-established on 1 January 2014 following a successful de-amalgamation referendum in 2013.

Queensland is the second-largest and third-most populous state in the Commonwealth of Australia. Situated in the north-east of the country, it is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean. To its north is the Torres Strait, with Papua New Guinea located less than 200 km across it from the mainland. The state is the world's sixth-largest sub-national entity, with an area of 1,852,642 square kilometres (715,309 sq mi).

History

The Yeppoon War Memorial comprises a series of avenues of trees, located over Anzac Parade, James and Normanby Streets planted in 1921 and 1984, to commemorate the servicemen lost from the local community. The ANZAC Parade avenue of trees was officially opened on 26 December 1929 by the Chairman of the Livingstone Shire Council, Cr, T. Smith, whilst driving through ribbons held by returned servicemen in uniform.^[2] The memorial obelisk, erected in 1952, is located in Beaman Park at the intersection of Normanby and James Streets, commemorates all servicemen and women from the Yeppoon district. Together they create an integrated precinct of remembrance for the international conflicts in which Australia participated.^[1]

Up until the early twentieth century, there were few statues or monuments in Queensland. However, as a result of the First World War (1914-1918), memorials were erected in almost every Queensland town. Such public expression of both grief for the dead and pride in the nation has not been generated by previous or subsequent wars. Memorials erected following subsequent wars were often adjuncts to the original commemorative symbols.^[1]

The First World War had an enormous impact on the Australian population. Of those who went to war, almost one in five did not return. It was common for families to lose more than one son and for small communities to lose a whole generation of men.^[1]

In 1916, the British Government prohibited the exhumation and return of bodies. This, coupled with the impracticality of visiting distant graves ensured war memorials became an expression of public mourning, revered as cenotaphs (literally meaning empty tomb) by those who erected them. Placed in prominent locations, such as planting of memorial trees in Yeppoon's main thoroughfares, they became symbols of remembrance and were considered to be as sacred as gravesites.^[1]

The Government of the United Kingdom, formally referred to as Her Majesty's Government, is the central government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It is also commonly referred to as simply the UK Government or the British Government.

Materials, design principles and symbols suggesting permanence, reverence and commemoration were important elements. In Yeppoon, trees symbolising continuing life were planted in 1921, at The Esplanade, James and Normanby Streets, as the original public commemoration. Native Australian Hoop Pines were selected as the preferred tree, suited to the harsh seaside conditions and longevity of up to 700 years making them an ideal choice for a continuing memorial. At this time The Esplanade was renamed Anzac Parade. While the trees in Anzac Parade flourished, those in James Street declined after the 1940s. Most of the memorial plaques for individual lost soldiers located under trees in James Street had disappeared. In 1984, Yeppoon Returned Services League and Livingstone Shire Council cooperated to replace the trees and plaques and to extend the memorial to those who died in World War Two, Korea and Vietnam. Palm Trees were planted in James Street and plaques moulded in brass in the pattern of the originals and set in small concrete cairns honour 29 Yeppoon residents.^[1]

Araucaria cunninghamii is a species of Araucaria known as hoop pine. Other less commonly used names include colonial pine, Queensland pine, Dorrigo pine, Moreton Bay pine and Richmond River pine. The scientific name honours the botanist and explorer Allan Cunningham, who collected the first specimens in the 1820s.

The Returned and Services League, Australia (RSL) is a support organisation for men and women who have served or are serving in the Defence Force.

World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. The vast majority of the world's countries—including all the great powers—eventually formed two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. A state of total war emerged, directly involving more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. The major participants threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. World War II was the deadliest conflict in human history, marked by 50 to 85 million fatalities, most of whom were civilians in the Soviet Union and China. It included massacres, the genocide of the Holocaust, strategic bombing, premeditated death from starvation and disease, and the only use of nuclear weapons in war.

The Ulam marble Yeppoon Honour Board, financed by public subscription and listing 68 townsmen enlisted in World War One, was originally housed in a glass-fronted case in the Yeppoon railway station. This marble tablet was incorporated into the 1952 obelisk placed in Beaman Park as the Yeppoon War Memorial. A marble plaque reading "Lest we forget" inserted above the original inscriptions, was a gift from local businessman, B.C. Kent. Plaques commemorating the enlisted for World War 2, Korea and Vietnam have also been added to the obelisk.^[1]

Description

The Yeppoon War Memorial is situated over three streets and a park in Yeppoon, all located in the central section of the town. The beach foreshore and esplanade, Anzac Parade has a row of mature hoop pines (Araucaria cunninghamii) evenly spaced by approximately two metres. This row extends around the corner into Normanby Street, with four mature hoop pines centre planted into a specially created tree reserve. The avenue continues in Normanby Street between Mary Street and Arthur Street planted in the roadside reserve. A row of Coconut Palm Trees is centre planted in James Street under which small concrete cairns are located. Each cairn carries two brass plaques commemorating an individual serviceman. Two original plaques remain in situ, on a short timber pickets.^[1]

The monumental style War memorial is located in Beaman Park. A simple white concrete obelisk is located in the centre of a double stepped base that has polished concrete horizontal surfaces and white vertical surfaces. The obelisk has marble tablets inset into each face of the obelisk, representing the four conflicts in which Yeppoon residents enlisted. The obelisk culminates in a pyramidal apex.^[1]

Heritage listing

Yeppoon War Memorial was listed on the Queensland Heritage Register on 23 July 1999 having satisfied the following criteria.^[1]

The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history.

War Memorials are important in demonstrating the pattern of Queensland's history as they are representative of a recurrent theme that involved most communities throughout the state. They provide evidence of an era of widespread Australian patriotism and nationalism, particularly during and following the First World War. They manifest a unique documentary record and are demonstrative of popular taste in the post war periods.^[1]

The place demonstrates rare, uncommon or endangered aspects of Queensland's cultural heritage.

Avenues of trees were uncommon in Queensland, a form of memorial favoured by the southern states and in particular rural Victoria.^[1]

The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places.

The memorial at Yeppoon demonstrates the principal characteristics of a commemorative form erected as an enduring record of this community's contribution to events of national significance. In Yeppoon, this is achieved through a combination of avenues of trees, the renaming of Anzac Parade, plaques to individuals sacrificed in war and a symbolic monument dedicated to all who enlisted in the Australian armed forces.^[1]

The place is important because of its aesthetic significance.

The Yeppoon War Memorials are an important aesthetic element in the townscape.^[1]

The place has a strong or special association with a particular community or cultural group for social, cultural or spiritual reasons.

The range and extent of memorial selected by this small community demonstrates the enormous impact that war had and the importance of the commemorative process.^[1]

The mature hoop pines on Anzac Parade and Normanby Streets have landmark qualities for the township of Yeppoon.^[1]

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References

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 "Yeppoon War Memorial (entry 602126)". Queensland Heritage Register . Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
↑ "ANZAC PARADE". Morning Bulletin (20316). Queensland, Australia. 27 December 1929. p. 7. Retrieved 3 April 2017– via National Library of Australia.

Attribution

This Wikipedia article was originally based on "The Queensland heritage register" published by the State of Queensland under CC-BY 3.0 AU licence (accessed on 7 July 2014, archived on 8 October 2014). The geo-coordinates were originally computed from the "Queensland heritage register boundaries" published by the State of Queensland under CC-BY 3.0 AU licence (accessed on 5 September 2014, archived on 15 October 2014).

External links

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[qhr-1] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 "Yeppoon War Memorial (entry 602126)". Queensland Heritage Register . Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 1 August 2014.

[2] "ANZAC PARADE". Morning Bulletin (20316). Queensland, Australia. 27 December 1929. p. 7. Retrieved 3 April 2017– via National Library of Australia.