St David's Presbyterian Church (Parish of Uralla) First World War Honour Roll

About

The memorial is an honour roll for the First World War, made of marble and terrazzo. It is ornately decorated with a design of a stone arch, above the interior of a temple. At the top of the arch is the Rising Sun emblem, flanked by the Australian and British flags. Four neo-classical columns support the arch, which bears the dedication. Underneath the arch, and between the columns, is a scroll that fills the centre of the tablet. It is inscribed with the of names of those who served. Below the names is a tessellated tiled floor. Some of the design elements on the roll were symbols of the Masonic Lodge, and were typical of its maker, prominent stonemason M.W. Hardy of Narrabi, NSW. He created a number of war memorials throughout the North West and New England Regions of NSW. The roll was dedicated on 14 March 1920 by Captain Chaplain R. Scott-West of Burwood at St David's Presbyterian Church in Uralla, NSW. The Uralla Times and District Advocate, 20 March 1920, published a detailed report on the dedication, including a photograph of the roll. At the service, a photographic display of 51 soldiers was also unveiled.  The church was eventually closed and the building was sold. The roll was then loaned to the Uralla Military Museum. In time, the museum also closed and the contents were put up for auction in 2013. Despite being on loan, the roll was sold at the auction and considered lost by the community.  The roll eventually ended up in a museum in Birdsville, Queensland. This museum closed around 2019 and its contents were again sent to auction. Following a tip the missing roll was among the items for sale, the Uralla RSL sub-Branch met and were determined to get it back to Uralla where it belonged. They successfully bid on the roll on 6 February 2021 at Toowoomba, Queensland. The sub-Branch were assisted by a one-off grant from the Premier's Department of the NSW Government, through their local state member, Mr Adam Marshall, MP. The grant covered the cost of the purchase and the shipping back to Uralla. Image 2 above shows Mr Marshall with community members responsible for the roll's safe return.  The roll will be displayed in the foyer of the Uralla Memorial Institute.

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