Clunes Charge Presbyterian Church Great War Honor Roll

About

The memorial is a marble honour roll, featuring a mainly black and white design. The names of two servicemen who lost their lives in the First World War are inscribed at the top, with a further list of veteran names on the main roll. The board is highly decorated with a coloured Union Jack and Australian Red Ensign on the sides, and a black and white diamond chequerboard pattern across the bottom. The marble memorial replaced an earlier honour roll which was unveiled in St John's Presbyterian Church, Clunes, on Wednesday 6 February 1918 (Northern Star (Lismore), 13 February 1918). The marble roll was dedicated in the Presbyterian church on Anzac Day 1924 and was relocated to Clunes Community Hall in May 2009 after the church was sold. The idea for a new memorial had been in the minds of the church committee and people of the charge for some time. The new marble honour roll was created by Edwards and Roberts, sculptors and monumental masons of Lismore, who also created the Ballina Soldiers Memorial and were known for the construction of cemetery head stones in the region. The new memorial contained 27 names of members of the church who had volunteered in the war, including a nurse, Margaret McNiven, who had been commissioned by the Imperial Government and served in military hospitals in Great Britain and in war zones across Europe. On Anzac Day 1924 a large congregation from the town and district attended the dedication service conducted by ministers from all denominations. The honour roll and pulpit were draped with the Australian flag and the Union Jack. Reverend G Miller of Bangalow provided the sermon after which Mrs I Stewart of Booyong performed the unveiling ceremony. Reverend Dudley Finlayson, minister of the charge, dedicated the memorial. A basket picnic closed the proceedings (Northern Star (Lismore), 30 April 1924).   The honour roll is available for viewing when the hall is open for public occasions.