No funding yet for 1st Australian Armoured Division war memorial in Gunnedah

The idea of a monument dedicated to 20,000 soldiers who called Gunnedah home in the late war years, was first raised in 2011 by then Gunnedah Shire mayor, Adam Marshall.

Five years on and it appears the memorial is no closer to establishment, much to the frustration of local author and wartime researcher, Cate Clark.

“It was promised in the media and in front of 90 year old veterans who travelled to my book launch on the Anzac Day weekend... I want to know when the memorial is going to happen?”, Ms Clark posted on social media. “All of the men that were in that room are now dead. None of them got to see it happen. So before all of them are gone I would like GSC to honour its unsolicited promise.”

Mayor Owen Hasler said the Marshall-led council supported the project pending design and cost reports which to his knowledge were not completed by election of the new council in 2012.

“The matter was raised with me by Cate Clarke in the first year of my period as Mayor. I enquired and found that there had been no report produced and, more importantly, any funding identified with which  to fund the project,” Cr Hasler said.

Since then, council has attempted to identify the appropriate grant program to fund the memorial but without success. “Until such funding is identified the project cannot proceed,” he said. “Adam should have made that clear when he made his announcement.”

Mr Hasler, who is chair of Gunnedah’s Commemoration of Anzac Working Group, assured residents that if and when the memorial did go ahead, it would be with all the respect our servicemen and women deserve.

“I would like to think when we do something we do it well with original, creative design which people will remember,” he said. “Such memorials are achievable but they require a dedicated team working for a common outcome with a common objective.”