One of the two commemorative seats placed in front of the cenotaph.
Photo by
Contributed
A new addition has been made to the surroundings of the Benalla War Memorial.
Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content
On Thursday, April 10 at 11am, Benalla RSL held a small dedication ceremony to acknowledge two new commemorative seats that have been placed in front of the cenotaph near the entrance of the Benalla Botanical Gardens.
The installation of the seats will mark the end of a three-year project that the previous president of the Benalla RSL, Jeff Lewis, sought to complete.
Benalla RSL president Paul Hartland, RSL member Len (’Tree’) Wilhelm and RSL member Ian (’Robbo’) Robertson.
Photo by
Sharlene Baldo
“Four years ago, the past president of the RSL said that it’d be nice to get some seating put there,” current president Paul Hartland said.
“We applied for a grant and everything, but we didn’t get the grant.
“But about three years ago, we decided we’ll give it a go, start again, and some people ... the Benalla RSL Ladies Auxiliary offered us some money, the ex-president offered us money, and what we had put aside, we had enough to possibly put the seats in.
“We went to about three or four people to get the seats manufactured and Numurkah Engineering looked and it and said ‘yep, we can do it, no problems’, and council helped us out by laying the pad.
“We finally settled on Numurkah (Engineering), and they manufactured them, they brought them out last Friday and they installed them.
“One seat, when we get the time, will have a plaque to Jeff Lewis.
“Unfortunately, he’s passed away before this happened, so he never saw the end of (it), so because he’s contributed quite a bit of money to it, one will be to Jeff, and the other will be to the Benalla RSL Ladies Auxiliary who also put quite a deal of money into it.
“I’ve got to thank Jeff Lewis and the ladies of the auxiliary.”
Margaret Lewis (at the back) and Barbara Jennings.
Photo by
Sharlene Baldo
“It’s lovely to see something that a lot of people in the community will be able to admire and sit and think about why they’re here, and what past members of the community have been through,” Margaret Lewis said.
“They’re just beautiful.”
Barbara added: “I think they can contemplate and just reflect on what it really means.
“To those who have served and are still serving ... that’s the thing to remember.”
27°C