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Charleville War Memorial is a heritage-listed memorial at Edward Street, Charleville, Shire of Murweh, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by George Brockwell Gill and built in 1924. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992. == History == The Charleville War Memorial was unveiled on October 9, 1924 by the Queensland Governor Sir Matthew Nathan. It is thought to have been designed by George Brockwell Gill and cost £1000. The predominantly marble memorial honours the 310 local men who served in the First World War, including the 40 fallen.〔 The memorial was "''Erected by the citizens of Charleville and district, and Charleville sub-branch of the Returned Services League"''. The cast iron fence was subsequently erected some time between 1925 and 1933.〔 In 1864, the Queensland Government Gazette proclaimed the boundaries of the Warrego Pastoral District. This followed the arrival of farmers from New South Wales in search of sheep runs on the Upper Warrego River district. The town of Charleville was gazetted in 1868 and laid out by government surveyor W A Tully in the usual grid form, allowing for the roads to be wide enough for large bullock trains to turn in. By 1880 the area had developed into a small town which continued to prosper as a resting point on the stock routes. Development was further encouraged by the railway which reached Charleville in 1888 and the establishment of Cobb and Co. in 1890. Other businesses were established to support the growing infrastructure; however the pastoral properties continued to be the town's main asset.〔 Australia, and Queensland in particular, had few civic monuments before the First World War. The memorials erected in its wake became our first national monuments, recording the devastating impact of the war on a young nation. Australia lost 60,000 from a population of about 4 million, representing one in five of those who served. No previous or subsequent war has made such an impact on the nation.〔 Even before the end of the war, memorials became a spontaneous and highly visible expression of national grief. To those who erected them, they were as sacred as grave sites, substitute graves for the Australians whose bodies lay in battlefield cemeteries in Europe and the Middle East. British policy decreed that the Empire war dead were to be buried where they fell. The word "cenotaph", commonly applied to war memorials at the time, literally means "empty tomb".〔 Australian war memorials are distinctive in that they commemorate not only the dead. Australians were proud that their first great national army, unlike other belligerent armies, was composed entirely of volunteers, men worthy of honour whether or not they made the supreme sacrifice. Many memorials honour all who served from a locality, not just the dead, providing valuable evidence of community involvement in the war. Such evidence is not readily obtainable from military records, or from state or national listings, where names are categorised alphabetically or by military unit.〔 Australian war memorials are also valuable evidence of imperial and national loyalties, at the time, not seen as conflicting; the skills of local stonemasons, metalworkers and architects; and of popular taste. In Queensland, the soldier statue was the popular choice of memorial, whereas the obelisk predominated in the southern states, possibly a reflection of Queensland's larger working-class population and a lesser involvement of architects.〔 Many of the First World War monuments have been updated to record local involvement in later conflicts, and some have fallen victim to unsympathetic re-location and repair.〔 Although many different memorials were constructed throughout Queensland, the only other known one of this design is at Esk. The Charleville memorial is attributed to Ipswich architect George Brockwell Gill due to design similarities with the Esk Memorial, known to be designed by Gill.〔 George Brockwell Gill was born in England and emigrated to Australia in 1886 and was soon employed by Ipswich architect Samuel Shenton. When Shenton retired in 1889, Gill took over the practice. He designed many substantial buildings in Ipswich including Ipswich Girls Grammar School and the Ipswich Technical College. He was active in public and church affairs and became president of the Queensland Institute of Architects in 1918. When he retired in 1943, his practice was taken over by Brisbane firm, Conrad and Gargett.〔 The memorial was constructed in Toowoomba by well known masonry firm, R C Ziegler and Son and then transported to Charleville. The firm of R C Ziegler and Son was established in Toowoomba in and produced many memorials throughout south western Queensland. The family company moved to Bundaberg where it was still operating in the mid 1980s.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Charleville War Memorial」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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