Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Hospital with white marble honour rolls

Rain was threatening, dark clouds hovered all round, and a biting cold wind was blowing— a day for indoor life and cosy fires. Such was the outlook on Wednesday afternoon in the valley of the Belabula, where nestles the rich and growing town of Canowindra. But what mattered the weather to the residents when they were going to celebrate an event to live for ever in the history of Belabula's capital, the opening of the soldiers' memorial hospital. The event was timed to start at 1.30, and well before time many hundreds —growing in time to nearly two thousand — of residents were on the spot.

From the hospital grounds a magnificent view of the valley is to be obtained, for the building is on a knoll that commands a view of the country for miles. The building is a very fine one, and an imposing structure. At the front, in the centre, is a lofty tower, not needed viewing the place merely as a hospital, but very fitting when recognising that the hospital is a memorial to Canowindra's brave soldiers. Mr. Oakes delivered a stirring patriotic address before he unveiled the two rolls of honor — two magnificent slabs of marble in the portico, weighing five cwt. each, and bearing in the gold names of some 260 men who volunteered in the great war from Canowindra about 60 of whom made the supreme sacrifice.
The Bathurst Times (NSW), 6 July 1922.