Volunteers refresh cenotaph
‘‘With it being wartime again, this is the place to come to think about things. ’’
A once-forlorn and ageing memorial to the fallen soldiers of 20th century wars was given a muchneeded refresh, in time for its 100th anniversary on Anzac Day.
The cenotaph on Tui St, in Drury, was unveiled by former Prime Minister William Massey on Anzac Day 1922.
Now, thanks to volunteer hours, donations and skills, the cenotaph has a fresh coat of paint, an elegant stone-set base and a garden of flowers around it.
Drury Community Committee members Riet van der Gulik and Steve O’Connor were behind the refresh, and said it was amazing to watch the community rally around the cenotaph.
A father of one of the volunteers had been in the Rotary Club when it helped move the cenotaph to its current location back in 1976. In his honour, he donated steel and concrete from his business to the project.
Another of their volunteers was retired brigadier general and army patron Paul Southwell, who originally joined the army in 1972.
‘‘They all feel they are part of that cenotaph somehow,’’ van der Gulik said.
‘‘They all take pride in it, they all feel affiliated to it.’’
‘‘With it being wartime again, this is the place to come to think about things,’’ O’Connor said.
When Auckland Council was told of the plans, the heritage staff provided the expert hands to restore the lettering detail.
‘‘We came here, and they were busy doing it, the council. It was a really nice surprise, it was quite a delicate and specialised thing to do,’’ van der
Gulik said. ‘‘They waterblasted the whole thing, they took all the old paint off around the marble letters, then they put an undercoat on and then two top coats around the letters . . . And we never saw a bill.’’
The committee also made sure the cenotaph wasn’t going to be moved any time soon to make room for any growth or change in the area.
It took more than a year, but the 20 or so dedicated volunteers managed to get the entire refurbishment done in time for Anzac Day on Monday.
O’Connor spent much of the refurbishment battling cancer.
He was at the cenotaph when he got the news of his diagnosis, but it didn’t stop him working on the project.
‘‘I’ve still got my tape in one hand, walking stick in the other,’’ he said.
Both O’Connor and van der Gulik prioritised ensuring the cenotaph was accessible to wheelchairs by including an appropriately sized ramp up to the memorial.
They also had to add bollards around the outside of the base to stop trucks driving over the corner as they turned out of their rest stops, O’Connor said.
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