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Cowes War Memorial
Foreshore Reserve, The Esplanade,COWES, Bass Coast 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
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Statement of Significance

The Cowes Foreshore is of local historic and social significance. The jetty and former goods shed, (now the Kiosk) are of historic significance as the first elements of the Foreshore to be built during the 1870s, the first phase of settlement of Cowes. The boat landing, and possibly the planting of cypress trees date from the late nineteenth century, an important phase in the development of Cowes as a tourist resort. Elements of the Foreshore constructed during the twentieth century and that remain of local historic and social significance include the Memorial to the men of Phillip Island who died in the First World War, and the toilets and sea wall, both constructed during the Depression of the 1930s. The Cowes Foreshore is demonstrative of the various phases of development of Cowes, and retains elements that are held in high esteem by local residents.
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    • Usage/Former Usage

      Cowes War Memorial - Usage/Former Usage

      Memorials

      Physical Description 1

      Cowes War Memorial - Physical Description 1

      The Cowes Foreshore is a grassed reserve extending along the Esplanade to the east and west of the Cowes Jetty. The foreshore contains a number of significant built features including a bluestone sea-wall, rotunda, war memorial and jetty kiosk. The landscape includes mature Cypress trees (cupressus macrocaupa), remnant native vegetation, and Norfok Island pines (Araucaria heterophylla). An asphalt carparking area is located in front of the jetty. The seawall is a bluestone and concrete structure extending along the foreshore to the east of the jetty which is not significant. To the west of the jetty are the remnant timber piers of the Cowes Baths which date from 1893. The rotunda is a double-storey off-form concrete building with a concrete dome roof. The first floor contains large timber-framed, fixed sash and awning windows. Modern security screens have been fitted over the ground floor window openings. The Cowes War Memorial is a grantie obelisk resting on a bluestone plinth. It contains the bronze crest of the Australian Commonwealth Military Forces and black lettering which reads:' Erected In Memory of the Men of Phillip Island who Gave Their Lives For King and Country In The Great War 1914-18 Erected by the Residents.' A recent grassed podium with a bluestone pitcher retaining wall is in front of the Memorial.
      The jetty has concrete piles with an asphalt deck and a tubular steel handrail. The end section of the jetty has timber piles, and timber flooring and expanded steel steps to the lower berths. The jetty kiosk is a single-storey former-goods shed with weatherboard cladding and a corrugated galvanised steel barrel vaulted roof. The roof has V-jointed timber board eaves linings and ogee profile gutters. A modern steel-framed shelter abuts the side of the building which is not significant. Adjacent to the kiosk is a timber flagpole, erected in 1997 by the Rotary Club of Phillip Island. The significant elements are: the 1870s Jetty and former goods shed (now the Kiosk), 1890s boat landing, row of cypresses, 1919 War Memorial and 1930s sea wall and toilets.

      Physical Conditions

      Cowes War Memorial - Physical Conditions

      Good

      Intactness

      Cowes War Memorial - Intactness

      Good.

      Historical Australian Themes

      Cowes War Memorial - Historical Australian Themes

      Thematic Environmental History
      13.3 Tourist Resorts: Early forms of tourism to Phillip Island in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries were limited to ferry journeys from Melbourne to Cowes and hotel or guest-house accommodation on the island, where days were spent in beach, boating, or walking pursuits. The Cowes Jetty, where the steamers arrived and departed, became a familiar sight to travellers. During the Edwardian era, and up to the Second World War, the popularity of Cowes and Phillip Island as a tourist resort increased. 15.2 Memorials: Early pioneers, influential residents, war heroes and other remain memorialised within the Shire in order to connect the past with the present. The elements of the Cowes Foreshore, such as the Cowes War Memorial remain as reminders of those who lost their lives fighting in war.

      Veterans Description for Public

      Cowes War Memorial - Veterans Description for Public

      The Cowes Foreshore is a grassed reserve extending along the Esplanade to the east and west of the Cowes Jetty. Constructed during the twentieth century, the area includes a war memorial to the men of Phillip Island who died in the First World War. Established on December 26th 1920, it names 17 locals who fell in the First and Second World Wars. The Cowes War Memorial is a granite obelisk resting on a bluestone plinth. It contains the bronze crest of the Australian Commonwealth Military Forces and black lettering which reads: 'Erected In Memory of the Men of Phillip Island who Gave Their Lives For King and Country In The Great War 1914-18 Erected by the Residents.' A recent grassed podium with a bluestone pitcher retaining wall is in front of the memorial.

      Heritage Study and Grading

      Heritage Study and Grading

      Bass Coast - Bass Coast Shire Heritage Study Stage 1

      Author: Allom Lovell & Associates
      Year: 2002
      Grading:

      Bass Coast - Bass Coast Shire Heritage Study Stage 2

      Author: Allom Lovell & Associates
      Year: 2006
      Grading: Local

Public contributions

Note: Developments may span multiple time periods
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