OUR WAR MEMORIAL.

Northern Advocate, 19 June 1920, Page 3

OUR WAR MEMORIAL.

(To the Editor)

Sir,—As you pointed out in your ■article on the above subject in last Tuesday's issue of th c "Advocate,'* there may be great difference of opinion on the form our war memorial should take. Unfortunately, beyond a certain amount of desultory discussion there is no means of arriving at some form which will firfd general acceptance, and it is to provoke public interest and discussion that I am writing this letter.

The suggested obelisk on the summit of Anzac Park seems to me the very last form our memorial should take.

Should not a suitable war memorial serve a dual purpose, that of standing as a tribute of respect to the fallen, and also of imbuing the minds of all with that same patriotism, that same spirit of self sacrifice that caused those left behind 'over there' to giv 6 up everything, including their lives, for their country? Will this obelisk serve either purpose? Our tribute of respect, whatever form it takes, should most certainly be a work of art—a beautiful emblem of beautiful action. As is generally known Cleopatra's Needle, which it is proposed to copy, was one of two similar obelisks erected in very ancient times and very hurriedly to commemorate the victory of 6ne barbaric tribe over another. Some fifty years ago, not as a work of art, but as a mere curiosity, it was moved and erected in London on the Thames Embankment. Plain, nay ugly, a relic of ancient barbarism, it should never b e copied. In this respect this obelisk would Hardly fulfil the first purpose.

Again, would any form of memorial erected in Anzac Park serve the second purpose?

Granted it would stand outlined against the horizon in clear view for a considerable distance; an object of curiosity to most, of awe and respect to but a few. At the same time it would b e a thing distant and apart from the daily life of both Town and Country alike.

Those who gave their lives were mostly young men and women. Would not our tribute to them be more suitable in the form of some structure •which would have some influence on, and take almost a daily part in, the lives of those of corresponding age?

I have in my mind the erection of some institute or club for young people of Town and Country alike. This would certainly serve the dual purpose desired.

This, however, is not by any means the only suitable suggestion, but as I said, I open the question in the hope that inhabitants of Borough and County alike will discuss the matter and not passively agree to a form of memorial that must untimately become distasteful to them. —I am, etc., X.Y.Z.