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Toowong Memorial Park is a heritage-listed memorial and park at 65 Sylvan Road, Toowong, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by George Rae and built by Andrew Lang Petrie Monumental Works. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 4 September 2007. == History == Toowong Park, bounded by the Ipswich-Brisbane Railway line to the west, Sylvan Road to the south and Dixon Street to the north, was allocated as a park in 1918 by Toowong Town Council. Following the dedication of Toowong Soldiers' Memorial in 1922, it became known as the Toowong Memorial Park. Since this time, Toowong Memorial Park has been important to the community as a central venue for Anzac Day ceremonies, organised and informal sports, and other recreational activities.〔 The Toowong area (then known as West Milton), was surveyed and divided into several large estates in 1850. In its early days the Toowong area was an upper-middle class suburb, consisting of detached "villas" on large allotments and made popular by its proximity to the central business district. The opening of the Brisbane to Indooroopilly railway line and Toowong station in 1875 triggered a period of rapid development and a large number of shops and houses were established for the increasing number of residents. In 1880 Toowong's first local authority was elected, the Toowong Divisional Board. However, on 30 May 1880 the area was regrouped and the Shire of Toowong was formed. By the end of the nineteenth century, a large amount of the land surrounding many of the early grand homes had been subdivided into estates. Following sustained growth, on the 19 August 1903, the area was declared the Town of Toowong under the provisions of the Local Authorities Act 1902, and the tram lines were extended to the Toowong Cemetery in the same year. In addition to many other achievements during its time, Toowong Town Council was successful in its focus on securing numerous land allotments for recreational use.〔 Despite the large number of subdivisions that occurred during the later half of the 19th century, a map from 1895 shows the parcel of land bounded by Sylvan Road, Dixon Street and the railway line to retain large allotments. On the 7 September 1918, Toowong Town Council declared the land a park reserve, to be known as Toowong Park. When Toowong was amalgamated to become part of Greater Brisbane in 1925, management of the park passed to Brisbane City Council.〔 Australia's involvement in the First World War exacted a heavy toll in death and injury. Of a relatively small population of about five million people, 60,000 service people were killed and 152,000 wounded. The outpouring of grief in Australia that accompanied these deaths, and the fact that the dead were buried overseas, led to a period of memorial building across the nation and residents of Toowong were quick to commemorate their soldiers by rededicating Toowong Park as Toowong Memorial Park and erecting a number of memorial features.〔 The park's memorial gates were erected to mark both the official opening of the park on 7 September 1918, and to honour people from the local community who enlisted during the First World War. They were originally located closer to the centre of the Sylvan Road perimeter; and were moved to their current location near the southeast corner of the park in 1959. In September 1918, a commemorative avenue of palms was also planted in the park.〔 In 1919 a competition was held to design a memorial for the park. It was won by a young Scottish draftsman, George Rae, who worked in the Brisbane office of renowned architect Lange Powell. The work on the memorial was carried out by Andrew Lang Petrie Monumental Works, who were the largest monumental masonry firm in Queensland at this time. The firm was also responsible for many other First World War memorials throughout Queensland. The memorial cost £700 and was financed by public fundraising.〔 The new memorial was known as the Toowong Soldiers' Memorial and was located on a prominent hill within the park. It was unveiled by Queensland Governor Sir Matthew Nathan on 2 July 1922. Following the opening of the memorial, the park became known as Toowong Memorial Park. Recorded on marble tablets affixed to the memorial are the names of 101 residents of the Town of Toowong who enlisted in the First World War. In April 1993, the Toowong sub-branch RSL dedicated another memorial cairn, located just inside the memorial gates in the southeast corner, intended as the new location for Anzac Day ceremonies. In the same year, part of the memorial avenue of palms was relocated to allow completion of a second oval rugby union oval. The palm avenue remains in this alignment, leading toward the RSL memorial from the main entrance of the park. On Anzac Day, processions continue to march along this avenue and gather at the new memorial for the Dawn Service.〔 The park provides an open space for community activities, recreational pastimes and organised sport, a tradition which is continued today. In its early days, the park was the venue for the annual Sunday School picnics, and the Methodist inter-church children's sporting competitions. In 1919, Toowong Council celebrated the signing of the peace treaty at Versailles by throwing a picnic for the local children in the park. More recently, the park has also been home to local Girl Guide and Scout groups, and the former headquarters of both remain in the park.〔 One of the earliest sporting facilities associated with the park was the Auchenflower Bowls Club, established on Bayliss Street in 1920. The club was sold in 2003 and demolished to make way for townhouses. Part of the land which protruded into the north-west perimeter of the park was resumed by Brisbane City Council. Originally known as the Toowong Rugby Club, the Western Districts Rugby Football Club, formed in 1960, is the only remaining sporting club to still use the park. Wests Junior Rugby Union Club was formed in 1966 and in 1968 a clubhouse was opened. In 1994 the first Women's team was formed. Sharing the grounds until 1999 was the Toowong Cricket Club, also originally established as a section of the Toowong Amateur Recreation Club in 1948. The Toowong Harriers, one of the oldest athletic clubs in Queensland also used the park during the early 1970s. The park is also home to the Vince Hickey Basketball Stadium and neighbouring public half-court. The stadium was used to host the 1994 World Masters Games, and has also been a venue for the Australian Basketball Championships. It is still currently used for Brisbane Basketball League games.〔 The Toowong Memorial Park enjoys regular patronage from the Brisbane public for both sporting or recreational purposes and is utilised by the Toowong Returned Services League to conduct remembrance ceremonies throughout the year.〔 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「Toowong Memorial Park」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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