Brandon War Memorial

About

This memorial has had three different appearances since it was dedicated on 21 September 1924. The basic structure of this memorial is a solid three level cairn painted white on a square concrete platform. Plaques have been inserted on the first and second levels at the front and sides of the memorial. The original design, unveiled in 1924 featured a German machine gun that was captured by the 14th Battalion Australian Imperial Forces at Villiers Bretonneaux on 29 April 1918 during the First World War. It is suggested that this gun was removed and/or lost during World War Two, however popular belief is it was melted down at the Delta Iron Works foundry as part of the war effort. From then on the Brandon War Memorial consisted of the original cairn with the dedication plaques only. In 2006, to celebrate the Delta Iron Works foundry's centenary year, the owners of the foundry (Green family) commissioned a new memorial as a gift to the Brandon community. The cairn and flag pole were relocated further back within the park and acast bronze sculpture of a First World War soldier carrying a replica of Brandon's captured German gun was affixed atop the cairn. A bronze dedication plaque was added to the cairn to commemorate the unveiling of the new memorial which occurred on 23 September 2006. Paving was extended around the cairn to improve visitor access. The new memorial received grant funding as part of the Queensland Government's Community Memorial Restoration Program and was a collaborated effort of the Burdekin Shire Council, local businesses and groups, and the community of Brandon.