Masterton War Memorial

Here stands the untidy soldier, a sight to behold for the eye accustomed to the starched and stuffy representations of military memorabilia often erected to recognise the soldiers' sacrifice.

The point of difference here is the viewpoint, of the sculptor, one Frank Lynch, a well celebrated New Zealand war hero who served in Gallipoli and then France as a Sergeant, turning to art upon his return to New Zealand. Nobody can argue that Lynch did not know, intimately, the shape of a soldier of action, and he sculpted exactly this man, (modelled by either his brother or an art college mate) for the Devonport War Memorial. The contraversial sculpture gained enough understanding and support to be cast again, in 1923 to stand atop this plinth here at Masterton's Queen Elizabeth Park.

Whether or not either standing place is in proportion with, and the style of the untidy soldier, is probably a better question than the undoubtable merits of the sculpture. Both Masterton (where some call it the Cenotaph) and Devonport's version have him standing and staring into the sun and the viewer doing the same in order to see him, at most parts of the day. Some shelter is afforded him by tall growing trees at both locales. Sadly the stone upon which he stands here is so large, purely due to the number of men whose names it carries, 400. Between the Masterton, Carterton, and South Wairarapa Districts, the region lost 542 souls to World War One, not including those at Featherston Camp.

*They whom this monument commemorates were numbered among those who. At the call of the King and country, left all that was dear to them, endured hardness, faced danger and finally passed out of the sight of men, by the path of duty and self-sacrifice, giving up their own lives that others might live in freedom. Let those who come after them see to it that their names are not forgotten. They died for freedom and honour.*Two thousand people attended the dedication of the statue.

Queen Elizabeth Park is otherwise given over to fun and recreation, including the Recreation Centre which includes the War Memorial Stadium and the pool which was formerly named the War Memorial Baths.

Image Credits: Masterton War Memorial, 1920s-1930s, Masterton, by Roland Searle. Purchased 1999 with New Zealand Lottery Grants Board funds. Te Papa, Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections, Auckland Weekly News Pg 35, September 27, 1923, MEMORIAL TO MEN OF THE WAIRARAPA DISTRICT WHO MADE THE SUPREME SACRIFICE IN THE GREAT WAR. UNVEILED IN THE PARK, MASTERTON, ON SEPTEMBER 16.