St Andrew's Presbyterian Church Great War Honor Roll, Grafton

About

This war memorial is a marble honour roll, modelled on a classical Greek temple. It features the traditional pediment at the top and two pairs of columns, with Corinthian capitals. The pediment also includes a carving of a man's head on a shield, flanked by branches. The temple is in white marble and is attached to a black marble backing panel.  Set within the centre of the temple are three white marble tablets, inscribed with the names of 45 members of the St Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Grafton who served in the First World War. The Women's Guild of the church started raising funds for the memorial around March 1922. They also formed a committee to source a design and cost the project (Daily Examiner, 6 March 1922). The memorial was later made and donated by Thomas Matheson of Matheson and Collins, monumental masons from Grafton. The company had constructed several memorials for the war and Mr Matheson was an elder of the church (Daily Examiner, 2 December 1922). The company's name is engraved into the bottom right-hand corner of the black marble.  The unveiling ceremony took place at the church on 5 December 1922. The initial religious portions were conducted by Reverend W.D. McIlwraith of St Andrew's, after which a short address was delivered by Mr Milliken of Maclean. The Union Jack covering the roll was the pulled aside by Mrs C. Penn, whose three sons had enlisted and one was killed in action. The Daily Examiner published a detailed report of the event the following day, naming the seven men who had been killed: C.M. Brown, W.T. Frame, T.A. Inglis, J.H. Penn, P.E.H. Phermister, E. Perrett, and C.E. Wheatley. The memorial remains in the church and is available for viewing when the church is open for services.