Remembrance Day 11th November 2022

11th Hour 11th Day 11th Month

Chidlow War Memorial

Remembrance Day falls on the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month. This day marks the moment the guns fell silent on the Western Front after the bloodshed of World war. Over the past century this moment has been adopted across the globe as a time to remember those who served and sacrificed in all wars and conflicts. The Shire of Mundaring has four significant Memorial Sites where people may pay their respects on Remembrance Day, and also on Anzac Day.

Chidlow War Memorial - Unveiled 2017

The fourth and most recent memorial in the Shire of Mundaring is the Chidlow War Memorial. This memorial was unveiled on 11th November 2017 after the local RSL received a grant from Lotterywest and donations from the Chidlow Progress association and the Mundaring Shire.

Mundaring Memorial Site - Unveiled 1923

In Mundaring the memorial at the junction of Nichol Street and Great Eastern Highway in Mundaring was erected after the RSL initiated a fund-raising drive in 1921 and collected an excess of £85 for the structure. The memorial was officially unveiled by Archbishop Riley on 6th May 1923. At the time there were no names inscribed on the memorial but later two marble plaques were added and on these were the names of 45 men who had died during the war. On the 14th March 1926 a further dedication was made and this event included dignitaries including Major General Talbot Hobbs, Archbishop Riley and Colonel Collect representing the RSL.

Many changes have taken place on this site with the addition of the names of fallen soldiers and the establishment of a rose garden.

The Mundaring War Memorial

Blackboy Hill Memorial - Blackboy Hill

Blackboy Hill has an impressive memorial with the inclusion of elliptical formations. From 1914 onwards approximately 32,000 young Western Australian men volunteered to train here and then and go to fight for their country on foreign soil.

After the end of World War 1 this area was abandoned but later in 1957 the RSL learned that the land was to be used for a housing development. They approached the Housing Commission with a proposal that some land be given over for a memorial. An architect was also approached and after some time and consideration of three different designs a decision was made . All wanted The Rising Sun Badge of the Australian Infantry Force to feature.

The site was dedicated on 15th November 1959 but it was not until 1962 that a structure was built on the empty site. The final concept is of four elliptical arches rising from the ground. In 1965 the army and also work released prisoners were employed to build the earthworks and walls.

New Recruits at the Blackboy Hill site

The War Memorial at Blackboy Hill

Hugo Throssell Memorial Greenmount - Unveiled 1954

The third World War 1 memorial in the Shire is at the junction of Old York Road and Great Eastern Highway. This memorial was not built and unveiled until 1954 because of the event of World War 11.

Hugo Throssell received his Victoria Cross for the single-handed capture of a Turkish trench on 15th August 1915. Whilst recovering from his wounds in an English hospital he met his wife to be, the writer Katherine Susannah Prichard. After marrying, they returned to their home in Greenmount. Years later, after unwise land speculation and failure of a tourist attraction that he had created, Throssell committed suicide while his wife was overseas.

Katherine Prichard gave some of her land to the Shire on which the memorial was erected. In the early 1980s it was moved to accommodate the widening of Great Eastern Highway.