City Council Rejects Memorial Avenue “Fins”

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28758, 2 December 1958, Page 14

City Council Rejects Memorial Avenue “Fins”

The proposed symbolic memorial for Memorial avenue—twin monolithic concrete fins—was rejected last evening by the City Council, which is the main contributor to the memorial. The council accepted a recommendation of its town plamimg committee that the Memorial Avenue , Committee should be asked to consider the advisability of substituting a small plaque. The committee considered the proposed memorial was not appropriate and that the expenditure was not warranted.

A statement by the architect who designed the memorial, Mr F. M. Warren, was read by the Mayor (Mr G. Manning), who said that as new matters were raised in the statement it should be given attention by a committee. ' i/ K. ■' “I don’t think it is worth a committee being set. up,” 'Cr. H. E. Denton said. -Thousands of people have seen the plan and I have not yet heard one person who is eulogistic. The model reminded me of the ancient English gallows at Tyburn. “If money is spent on the monument it will meet with general disfavour from the public,” he said. “The ordinary num in the street has looked at it and wondered what it is supposed to be. Some people think it would be a traffic hazard.” Cr.-Denton proposed that “two or three pensioners’ cottages might make a nice memorial” Public Opinion He had tried to get public opinion on the memorial, said Cr. M. A. Connelly, M.P. The main criticism he had found was that it was too expensive. Another criticism was that it was too high for the area, and another that it did not appear to be symbolical "Generally, there was a feeling that the road itself was the memorial so why should there be another?” Cr. Connelly said. Cr. A. R. Guthrey said the proposed memorial would be a splendid memorial to fallen airmen. ‘The objection I raise is the

appropriateness of the monument to the particular project," said Cr. H. P. Smith. • “There may be ideal place * where it would **l think the architect has goneoff on the wrong presumption that he was creating a. memorial I am quite satisfied with the memorial we laying down* and I don’t think we* should have anything that detracts from the memorial." Two Memorials Already Cr. R. M. Macfarlane. M.P, said it had never been contemplated that there should be another edifice as a war memorial. There were already two war memorials to the city, and the Memorial avenue had been the thought of the City Council of the day and those who had worked for the Memorial avenue. Cr. T. B. Burtt then said that everyone on the' Council had made up his or her mind, and he moved that the motion should be put. Cr. W. P. Glue, chairman of the town planning committee and a member of the Memorial Avenue Committee, said the avenue was originally proposed as a memorial to airmen killed in the Second World War. Later it had been adopted as a memorial for all the services. Then there had been a suggestion that there should be some plaque or other means of showing people why Memorial avenue was there. The motion for the adoption of the committee’s recommendation was then put and carried without dissent.