More names of fallen soldiers added to war memorial

23 April 2007

New plaques with the names of fallen soldiers from other war campaigns will be dedicated during this year’s ANZAC Day service at the Halswell War Memorial in Halswell Domain at 9am on Wednesday.

Two new bronze plaques have been added to the existing War Memorial to also honour those who served in campaigns during World War 2 (1939-1945), the Korean War (1950-1957), Malaya-Borneo (1949-1975), and the Vietnam War (1965-1972), thanks to Department of Veteran Affairs funding received during the 2006 Year of the Veteran.

Council Heritage Planners investigating the site aim to list the Halswell War Memorial as a protected item in the City Plan as a prime example of the national trend at that time to build commemorative structures in honour of those who served and died during the Great War.

The Halswell War Memorial was unveiled on 21 June 1924 by prominent New Zealander Sir Heaton Rhodes and is particularly significant because it was built as a shrine out of local Halswell bluestone, bordered with Hoon Hay stone.  This is unique compared to other commemorative monuments from this period - the most common being in the form of an obelisk, gate or archway. 

The Halswell War Memorial was the first of its kind, designed by local architect Maurice James Guthrie of the JS & MJ Guthrie Brothers partnership, and commissioned by the War Memorial Committee. M.J Guthrie also designed the war memorial at Rakaia (1922), and the shrine at Christchurch Boys High School (1926). The only shrines listed on the register of 453 public World War 1 memorials are the two designed by the Guthrie brothers in Canterbury.

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