The Dalby War Memorial was unveiled on 26 July 1922 by the
Governor of Queensland, Sir
Matthew Nathan. The memorial and gates were designed by local monumental mason, Harry Shill and British firms contributed to the design and construction of the digger statue. The stone and bronze memorial honours the 360 local men who served in the
First World War, including the 64 fallen. Funds for the erection of the memorial were raised by public subscriptions and functions arranged by a public committee. Dalby is a small town west of
Toowoomba. It was surveyed as a township in 1854, and began to prosper with the arrival of the
Western railway in 1868. However, this was short-lived as the railway eventually moved further west and the township of Dalby came to depend on its dairy industry and agricultural produce. In 1919, Dalby requested advice from the
Queensland Institute of Architects on the design of its war memorial. The Institute suggested that the town hold a design competition, which it would supervise. It is unclear what occurred next; however there is no evidence to suggest that a competition was held. Australia, and Queensland in particular, had few civic monuments before the First World War. The memorials erected in its wake became our first national monuments, recording the devastating impact of the war on a young nation. Australia lost 60,000 from a population of about 4 million, representing one in five of those who served. No previous or subsequent war has made such an impact on the nation. Even before the end of the war, memorials became a spontaneous and highly visible expression of national grief. To those who erected them, they were as sacred as grave sites, substitute graves for the Australians whose bodies lay in battlefield cemeteries in Europe and the Middle East. British policy decreed that the Empire war dead were to be buried where they fell. The word "
cenotaph", commonly applied to war memorials at the time, literally means "empty tomb". Australian war memorials are distinctive in that they commemorate not only the dead. Australians were proud that their first great national army, unlike other belligerent armies, was composed entirely of volunteers, men worthy of honour whether or not they paid the supreme sacrifice. Many memorials honour all who served from a locality, not just the dead, providing valuable evidence of community involvement in the war. Such evidence is not readily obtainable from military records, or from state or national listings, where names are categorised alphabetically or by military unit. Australian war memorials are also valuable evidence of imperial and national loyalties, at the time, not seen as conflicting; the skills of local stonemasons, metalworkers and architects; and of popular taste. In Queensland, the
digger (soldier) statue was the popular choice of memorial, whereas the
obelisk predominated in the southern states, possibly a reflection of Queensland's larger working-class population and a lesser involvement of architects. Many of the First World War monuments have been updated to record local involvement in later conflicts, and some have fallen victim to unsympathetic re-location and repair. Although there are many different types of memorials in Queensland, the digger statue is the most common. It was the most popular choice of communities responsible for erecting the memorials, embodying the
ANZAC spirit and representing the qualities of the ideal Australian: loyalty, courage, youth, innocence and masculinity. The digger was a phenomenon peculiar to Queensland, perhaps due to the fact that other states had followed Britain's lead and established Advisory Boards made up of architects and artists, prior to the erection of war memorials. The digger statue was not highly regarded by artists and architects who were involved in the design of relatively few Queensland memorials Most statues were constructed by local masonry firms, although some were by artists or imported. The Dalby digger is based on a Sergeant-Major of the
Grenadier Guards and was modelled by British sculptors,
John Whitehead and Sons of London. It is one of only two known examples of their work in Queensland, as well as being one of only two bronze diggers in the state. To ensure accuracy of dress, the modelling was supervised by an officer from
Australian Army Headquarters and
Australia House lent certain accoutrements for copying. The statue was cast at the
foundry of A B Burton in London, whilst the stonework, including the pedestal and gate pillars, was produced by Harry Shill of Dalby. The bronze plates bearing the names of the soldiers were created by
Ernest Gunderson who established his company in
Brisbane after migrating from Norway. The company operated until the mid-1930s and supplied honour boards statewide. His work was distinctly original, often incorporating both Australian and British motifs. Memorials were often enclosed by a fence, indicating a special commemorative area. Occasionally this was further surrounded by a park or other space for the gathering of people on
ANZAC Day. The Dalby War Memorial and gates are located in Anzac Park which was gazetted in 1906. The memorial, gates and the setting are considered as a complete entity in which each elements complemented the other. == Description ==