MemorialsBangalow-Clunes Great War Honour Roll and Memorial Sculpture
About
Outside the entrance to Bangalow RSL Memorial Hall is a bronze bust of a First World War soldier. It was conceived and created by sculptor Susan Kaden, working from her studio in Huonbrook. The statue is mounted on a plinth, made of stone from Tregeagle, created by stonemason Albie Hartnett of Possum Creek. Funds for the sculpture were provided by the Armistice Centenary Grant, which stipulated the artwork must represent a typical First World War soldier. Kaden modelled the bust on Private Patrick Bugden, who attended the Bangalow Public School from 1903 to 1905. He was killed in action on 28 September 1917 and posthumously received the Victoria Cross for his gallantry. Inside the hall is a simple timber honour roll, also for the First World War. At the top of the board is a green banner, which highights the inscription and displays the end year of the war as 1919, rather than 1918. The names are printed in gold in five columns, with a separate section in the fifth column for Prisoners of War. The roll was designed and made by Stuart Pratley of Bangalow and the names were researched over a three-year period by Colin Draper, a member of the Bangalow RSL. Both memorials were unveiled and dedicated on 28 September 2019 by Justine Elliott MP and Major Warren Walsh of the 41st Battalion. Access to the honour roll is restricted to the opening hours of the hall.