Muswellbrook Memorial Grove

About

This Memorial Grove is located within a one-kilometre long area between the New England Highway and the railway line, to the north of the centre of Muswellbrook. It contains memorials to veterans of the First and Second World Wars, Vietnam, National Service and the Korean, Malayan and Borneo campaigns. The memorials are spaced apart, but joined with small wooden signs for each of the Service units and the numbers killed in Vietnam. There is also an avenue of native trees. The Field of Remembrance is the northern most memorial. It comprises a small garden plot with a knee-high stainless steel cross behind it, set in a concrete path surround. This memorial does not have an inscription, but is identified with a sign bearing the words 'Field of Remembrance'. The First World War memorial was opened in 2015 during the Centenary of Anzac commemorations. Two captured German Guns are the focal point of the area. A 250mm S Chwererminenwerfer heavy trench mortar, captured by Australian troops on the Western front in 1917, sits on the Southern side of the memorial. On the northern side sits a 77mm Feldkanone 96n.a, captured by men of the 30th Battalion A.I.F during the Battle of Somme. Both pieces were donated to Muswellbrook Shire in 1920, as men from Muswellbrook served with the 30th Battalion. The letters of 'Anzac' are prominently displayed affixed to sandstone plinths at the front of the memorial. At night, each letter, the guns and flags are illuminated. The next memorial is for the Second World War. It is a bushrock monument with a bronze plaque, set in the centre of a low semi-circular sandstone wall. The centrepiece of the Grove is a multi-element Vietnam Memorial, dedicated on 6 December 2008. The main components of this memorial are three large black polished granite slabs set into a waist-high semi-circular sandstone wall. Veterans' names are inscribed on the granite and gilded. The red granite walkway leading to the wall is flanked on both sides by eleven stainless steel crosses, and three flagstaffs on the eastern side. A tall white granite pillar and a smaller red granite stone with attached bronze plaques mark the beginning of the walkway. The red granite stone was dedicated on 18 August 2013. Adjacent to this memorial is a flagstaff set in the middle of a rest area for motorists. Facing the flagstaff is a single-cut sandstone block, topped with a bronze plaque inscribed with the dates of the Vietnam War. The memorial to National Service is a large bushrock with an attached bronze and adjoining flagstaff. Behind the memorial are two low concrete blocks with small name plates attached. To the south, is a large horizontal tree trunk with the words 'Nashos Memorial' carved into it. This memorial was dedicated on 14 October 2000. At the southern end of the Grove is a memorial to veterans of the Korean, Malayan and Borneo campaigns. Three bronze plaques are attached to two large bushrocks, located within a garden bed filled with white gravel. The memorial is surrounded by low bushes and a red brick path. This memorial was dedicated on 23 October 1999.