The third and last of the ‘main Memorials erected in the Municipality’ with a WWI connection has an appropriately prominent Harbour position at Bradleys Head.
It remembers the first engagement at sea during the Great War in which a ship of the Royal Australian Navy took part. Survivors of the “SYDNEY”-“EMDEN” action were present on the day it was formally instituted as a permanent memorial on 24 November 1934.
Interesting facts have been uncovered whilst indexing several Mosman Daily issues from World War I. This adds to our knowledge of Mosman’s contribution to the Great War effort. The Mosman Daily reveals a snapshot of the Mosman community at this time through original source material.
The second of the ‘main Memorials erected in the Municipality’ is the cenotaph at Mosman Park, home of Allan Border Oval.
George Franki notes1 in its design the influence of the Cenotaph by Sir Edwin Lutyens in London. This first monument ‘was initially set up to celebrate the victory… [but] the empty tomb… far away from the battlefield is quickly recognized by the relatives as a place where they can express their grief.’2
The final chapter of Jack Carroll’s The Streets of Mosman lists the ‘five main Memorials erected in the Municipality.’ Three were built in response to the Great War, the first being Anzac Memorial Hall.
‘It might be of some interest to local residents at least,’ writes Jack Carroll in The Streets of Mosman, “to know how the Streets and Lanes of Mosman came to receive their “baptismal” names.’ At least five have a WWI connection.