Gatton Boer War Memorial

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Surmounting the pedestal is the digger statue which is life-sized. The soldier stands on a square plinth decorated on all faces with relief carved wreaths and festoons. His head is bowed and hands are resting on his reversed rifle. A supporting tree stump is located at the rear of the statue. The pedestal base has a section recessed behind four Corinthian columns, with leaded marble plates on both front and back recording the names and dates and places of death of the four soldiers. The front plate also bears a bugle moulded in relief (one of the soldiers was a bugler), and the back plate (which is probably a later addition from elsewhere) has a leaded badge of the Queensland Mounted Infantry. The pedestal has a wide cornice with scroll ornament. Surmounting the monument is a life-sized statue of an Australian Light Horseman, standing to attention with arms reversed. The original statue was of Italian marble and said to be very realistic and striking. The present statue is a sandstone replacement. The base of the statue is richly ornamented with moulded wreaths and swags. Additional Information The Gatton Boer War Memorial was unveiled on 3 August 1908 by Governor of Queensland, Lord Chelmsford, and was designed by architect, William Hodgen. The pedestal was produced by Toowoomba monumental mason, Walter Bruce, and the statue was imported from Italy. The total cost of the monument was 200. There are only three known Boer War memorials in Queensland in the form of the digger. Of these only two were erected shortly after the war. These are the Allora Memorial, erected in 1904, and the Gatton Memorial, erected in 1908. The third Boer War memorial, in Brisbane, was not unveiled until 1919. This memorial was originally located in the intersection of Railway and Cresent Streets and was moved in the late 1970s. It originally stood on a stepped base, which was lost in the relocation. In 1984 the monument was sandblasted to remove layers of paint. The original Italian marble digger statue, which was said to be very realistic, was replaced by the current sandstone statue. When this occurred, or for what reason is unknown. (Source: EPA Cultural Hertiage Register)