As Australia and New Zealand prepare to commemorate the anniversary of the landing of Australian and New Zealand troops at Gallipoli, Turkey on 25 April 1915, it is timely to recognise the more than 1.5 million men and women who have served Australia in all conflicts, wars and peacekeeping operations. This is also a time to remember over 103,000 Australians who lost their lives while serving. Lest we forget.
In commemoration, this year the Lithgow Library will be presenting a photographic exhibition of war memorials of the Lithgow area. War memorials are created to remember all those who served in war. They can commemorate individual people, groups or a conflict. Memorials take many forms - they can be buildings, monuments, statues, gardens, plaques, avenues of honour, honour boards, stained-glass windows, even street names and swimming pools.
A very special addition to the collection is the Lithgow High School Memorial table and chairs generously loaned to the Lithgow Library by Lithgow High School Principal Mr Foty Loupos. The table and chairs, which usually reside at Lithgow High School, commemorate former students from the school who made the supreme sacrifice during World War 2. This is a touching tribute that perfectly encapsulates the many forms that war memorials can take.
Since attending the 2023 Remembrance Service in Queen Elizabeth Park, Lithgow Library team leader, Scotia Tracey has been researching and visiting as many of the local memorials as she could locate and has taken photos of them. Visitors to the library might be surprised by the variety that exist in the local area. One memorial even has a "library staff connection".
Scotia says, "I hope that lots of people will come to the library and view the exhibition. I'm not an historian, nor a great photographer but I was a soldier and I believe that it is important to remember what these memorials represent. We need to reflect and remember that every name on them was a person who served Australia and made sacrifices to do so, some making the ultimate sacrifice." Scotia went on to acknowledge the community's role in putting this collection together saying "I would like to thank the schools, churches, clubs and organisations that have allowed me access to photograph their memorials, I'm hoping to eventually produce a book incorporating the photos of all the memorials and donate it to the Lithgow Library's local studies collection".
To complete the book Scotia is seeking information from the public about the fate of some local memorials, three in particular - the St. Mary's Presbyterian Church's, Eskbank WW1 Roll of Duty, the Lithgow School of Arts' WW1 Roll of Honour and the Ironworker's Roll of Honour Banner. Also, any memorials that may have been missed in her research.
All photos and related memorabilia will be on display at the Lithgow Library until Monday 6 May 2024. Library hours are Monday - Friday 9am-6pm and Saturday 9am - noon.
There will be events to commemorate ANZAC Day in Lithgow, Wallerawang and Portland which will see some surrounding roads closed for the duration of the services.
