Taking pride of place at Pearl Beach on ANZAC Day was it’s the newly refurbished war memorial in front of the Memorial Hall.
The refurbishment, funded by a $10,000 grant from the NSW Government’s Community War Memorial Fund, was completed by the team from RJC Stonemasonry, including master mason Sefton Willis of Wyoming.
The memorial was reconstructed in solid sandstone, with the surrounding paving also also repaired.
A morning tea was served at the hall following a dawn service on the Pearl Beach waterfront attended by a large crown of residents and visitors.
The Memorial Hall and Pearl Beach War Memorial are owned by the Pearl Beach Progress Association, which was established in 1929, and grew out of informal gatherings of residents to discuss local problems and community projects.
The hall and memorial were officially unveiled on the September 16, 1950.
At that time Pearl Beach was a popular spot for ex-servicemen to live and holiday after the Second World War.
There was a sub-branch of the RSSAILA (now the Returned Servicemen’s League or RSL) at that time with members using the newly completed hall for their monthly meetings.
The Women’s Auxiliary catered for the official opening of the hall.
The War Memorial plaque in front of the hall was also unveiled in September 1950.
By 2022 the masonry of the memorial was in poor condition; the original brickwork was rendered and bagged, and the original marble plaque replaced in bronze.
The successful application for a grant from the NSW Government to upgrade it in solid Sydney sandstone enabled the Progress Association to work with a qualified and experienced RKH Heritage architect who oversaw the work by experienced stonemasons from the RJC Group.
“RJC Stonemasonry and master stonemason Sefton Willis and the rest of the team, who are some of best traditional masons in NSW, undertook the work and we were lucky to have them,” association spokesperson Lynne Lillico said.
Following the service at the beachfront wreaths were laid on the memorial by Member for Gosford Liesl Tesch, a representative for Member for Robertson Gordon Reid and members of the community.
Source:
Pearl Beach Progress Association