Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

A concrete stepped obelisk on a cement base.

This panel was originally inside of the foyer of the Canterbury Memorial Hall on Canterbury Rd, Canterbury. This Memorial Hall Stood on the corner of Canterbury Rd and Keats St Canterbury.

(The Original Memorial Hall)

It really was a magnificent structure. It was used for many years as the site of the opening of the election campaign for Sir Robert Menzies. When the RSL went into decline the hall sort of lost its appeal. It was used to hold deb balls, flower shows and all sorts of fundraising events.

The Canterbury RSL had an annual Fete there for many years which helped support many of the local charities.

I know this because my father was a member when I was a young child. We had many great times there. I was welcomed back into the fold of the RSL when I returned from my first trip to Vietnam on HMS Sydney in 1971. This was before the State and National RSL recognised that sailor on the Sydney did actually go to war. It helped that my dad was the president at the time.

It was eventually demolished because the building was signed over to Camberwell City Council and they could not afford the upkeep or maintenance on the building. Demolished in the late 1970s and elderly persons home units were erected on the site. There was supposed to be several units reserved for widows of ex servicemen but the council changed their mind and started to just lease the units out to the wider community. The panel was in the foyer for many years and when the council changed the emphasis it just disappeared.

I located it after chatting with the secretary of the City of Camberwell RSL and he told me where the panel was now located.

The bust of Pompey Elliott is significant as he was the first president of the Canterbury RSl and helped set up the whole of the RSL. He lived locally in Prosp[ect Hill Rd until he took his own life in the mid 1930s.

Courtesy of Peter Sneddon