Back to search results

Hamilton Boer War Memorial
cnr Market Place and Milton Streer HAMILTON, Southern Grampians Shire

All information on this page is maintained by Vic. War Heritage Inventory. Click below for their website and contact details.

Vic. War Heritage Inventory

Ham 10.jpg

On this page:

Statement of Significance
Timeline browser

Statement of Significance

SIGNIFICANCE: »Not just an expression grief for the local fallen of the Boer War, this monument marks a turning point in the history of Australia and of the squabbling of local politics.

STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE

Boer War Memorial
cnr Market place and Milton Street

Erected in 1902 in memory of men from the district who either fell or died later as a result of the Boer War, this monument is of local significance. The caption, inscribed on three white marble scrolls at the base of the obelisk reads:

Erected by the residents of this district to the memory
of those brave men of the H Co. VMR
who gave up their lives for Queen & Country in South Africa 1900

Lieut. RSRS Bree died at Blomfontein May 26th 1900
Pte T Stock killed in action at Rensberg Feb 9th 1900

and of Pte F Suttie killed in action at Basters nek Feb 10th 1900
Pte H Sealey died at Blomfontein April 30th 1900
Pte D Ross died at Noradjuha, Vic after returning from S Africa November 15th 1900
Dulce set decorum ast pro patria mori.

and of Pte F M (Frank) Meagher died 23rd July 1903 from wounds received at Pink Hill S Africa on 12th Feb. 1900.

Garden says "The town was hardest hit by the death of [RSR Stapylton] Bree, aged onl 20 who died from enteric fever. He was a promising young mant, a product of the College, son of one of the leading residents and grandson of S G Henty." ([i]) The monument was the first step in the beautification of the market reserve. After the death of Lieut Bree's father, a councillor, the monument was moved from the reserve its present site.

The obelisk form recalls ancient funerary monuments. It is well crafted by the Warrnambool stonemasons. and presumably scluptors, Wooles and Carpenter. The most notable feature is the bluestone plinth, signifying strength, which is carved from one stone to represent a pile of rocks. The chain strung between the smoothly finished bluestone bollards is also of interest. It is made up of ordinary links and spiked balls. The scrolls and the lead lettering are conventional. Behind the monument are two oak trees, Quercus robur, symbolising remembrance. In front of the monument is a cannon marked 43-0-8, 1843, C-V N C.

[i] Garden, D, Hamilton, p 157 - 8.

Show less

- Physical Description 1
  
  Hamilton Boer War Memorial - Physical Description 1
  
  MATERIALS:
  Roof: »
  Walls: »red granite & white
  Dressings: » marble shaft
  Plinth: »rockface bluestone
  Windows: » (one stone)
  Paving: »asphalt
  Other: »dressed bluestone steps and balusters iron chain and lead lettering
  
  Physical Description 2
  
  Hamilton Boer War Memorial - Physical Description 2
  
  NOTABLE FEATURES:»setting amongst oak trees
  
  Integrity
  
  Hamilton Boer War Memorial - Integrity
  
  INTEGRITY: E
  
  CONDITION: E
  
  Historical Australian Themes
  
  Hamilton Boer War Memorial - Historical Australian Themes
  
  ASSOCIATED HISTORIC THEMES
  War Boer War
  Government: Municipal
  Evolution of the Town: 1900s
  
  Veterans Description for Public
  
  Hamilton Boer War Memorial - Veterans Description for Public
  
  The Hamilton Boer War Memorial, on the corner of Milton and Shakespeare Streets, was erected in 1902. The monument consists of an obelisk crafted by the Warrnambool stonemasons and the sculptors, Wooles and Carpenter. In 1901 an appeal was made to the residents of Hamilton for finance to erect a monument in memory of those members of the local Victorian Mounted Rifles who had fallen in South Africa. The appeal was initiated by members of the H Company, V.M.R., to perpetuate the patriotism of the members of their company who lost their lives in the Transvaal. A committee, established at a public meeting held on 1st June 1900, was given the responsibility of selecting a suitable site and design.
  
  The design chosen was substantial and emblematic. The most notable feature of the obelisk is the bluestone plinth, signifying strength, which is carved from one stone to represent a pile of rocks. Behind the monument are two oak trees, Quercus robur, symbolising remembrance. At the base of the obelisk, three white marble scrolls read:
  
  Erected by the residents of this district to the memory
  of those brave men of the H Co. VMR
  who gave up their lives for Queen & Country in South Africa 1900
  
  Lieut. RSRS Bree died at Blomfontein May 26th 1900
  Pte T Stock killed in action at Rensberg Feb 9th 1900
  
  and of Pte F Suttie killed in action at Basters nek Feb 10th 1900
  Pte H Sealey died at Blomfontein April 30th 1900
  Pte D Ross died at Noradjuha, Vic after returning from S Africa November 15th 1900
  Dulce set decorum ast pro patria mori.
  and of Pte F M (Frank) Meagher died 23rd July 1903 from wounds received at Pink Hill S Africa on 12th Feb. 1900.
  
  Hamilton was hardest hit by the death of RSRS Staplyton Bree, aged only 20 who died from enteric fever. He was a promising young man, a product of the College and a son of one of the leading residents and grandson of S G Henty. In 1908 after the death of Lieut Bree's father, a councillor, the monument was moved from the reserve toits present site .
  
  The monument was the first step in the beautification of the market reserve. The Hamilton Spectator reported a very detailed description of the monument when it was first unveiled:
  
  "The foundations are of concrete, on which rests a solid block of rubbed bluestone, 10 feet square. This bears eight pillars, or standards, also in bluestone, shaped to represent cartridges, each three feet high, and looped together with a ball and spike chain. Then comes another step, which supports the real base of the monument. This consists of a solid mass of bluestone worked in rustic fashion, so as to represent a number of rocks piled together and cemented, the idea having been taken from the heaps of loose stones which our soldiers in South Africa heaped on the spot where they had buried a comrade in the battlefield. This block is 5 feet square and 2 feet 6 inches high.
  
  Next above this is a mass of Sicilian (Carrara) marble, the front panel bearing in relief the monogram V.M.R., surmounted with a crown, and enclosed with a laurel wreath with streamers and a knot in the centre, the whole device being worked in raised marble. The second moulded piece is also in marble with a carved scroll on three sides for the reception of the names of present or future dead. The names will be carved in the stone and leaded. The obelisk, or tapering pillar, which completes the design, is of red imported granite in one piece, measuring 10 feet in height, the whole structure reaching an elevation of 19 feet. The structure will in colour embody a combination of red, white and blue."
  
  Heritage Study and Grading
  
  Heritage Study and Grading
  
  Southern Grampians - City of Hamilton Conservation Study
  
  Author: Timothy Hubbard with Carlotta Kellaway & Michael Looker (plus Francis Punch)
  Year: 1991
  Grading: C
- Show:
- MECHANICS INSTITUTE
  
  Victorian Heritage Register H2171
- HAMILTON BOTANIC GARDENS
  
  Victorian Heritage Register H2185
- FORMER HAMILTON TUBERCULOSIS CHALET
  
  Victorian Heritage Register H1066
- 'Mororo' 13 Oxford Street, Malvern
  
  Stonnington City
- 1 Arnold Street
  
  Yarra City
- 1 Austin Street
  
  Yarra City