Tieri War Memorial is a heritage-listed

memorial A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects such as home ...

at Talagai Avenue, Tieri,

Central Highlands Region Central Highlands Region is a local government area in Queensland, Australia. In the , the Central Highlands Region had a population of 27,836 people. History '' Wadja'' (also known as ''Wadjigu'', ''Wadya'', ''Wadjainngo'', ''Mandalgu'', a ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

, Australia. It was built in 1984. It was added to the

Queensland Heritage Register The Queensland Heritage Register is a heritage register, a statutory list of places in Queensland, Australia that are protected by Queensland legislation, the Queensland Heritage Act 1992. It is maintained by the Queensland Heritage Council. As ...

on 29 June 2001.

History

The Tieri War Memorial was constructed in 1984 in memory of those servicemen and women from the

Peak Downs Peak Downs is a geographic area, and formerly a station, in the vicinity of Clermont, Central Queensland. In the 1860s and 1870s the area was known as "the Peak Downs". The morphology of this region consisted of numerous distinct peaks of bas ...

area who served in a number of conflicts, but especially as a memorial to those who served in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

. The construction of the memorial came about when two Vietnam veterans met in

Capella Capella is the brightest star in the northern constellation of Auriga. It has the Bayer designation α Aurigae, which is Latinisation of names, Latinised to Alpha Aurigae and abbreviated Alpha Aur or α Aur. Capella is the lis ...

ANZAC Day Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia, New Zealand and Tonga that broadly commemorates all Australians and New Zealanders "who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations" and "the contribution and ...

in 1983. At first, neither was aware that the other had served in Vietnam as they were not wearing their medals. This was due to the public feeling conflicted with the Vietnam War at the time. By the end of that day, however, the two had decided to hold the next ANZAC Day celebrations in Tieri. It took several months to decide on an appropriate memorial which could be placed in the town. During the year, one of the Veterans located a large petrified tree and a piece of this was brought into the town and set up in the shopping centre. Following the ANZAC Day celebrations in 1984, it was decided that the shopping centre was not a suitable location for the memorial. With assistance from

Mount Isa Mines Mount Isa Mines Limited ("MIM") operates the Mount Isa copper, lead, zinc and silver mines near Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia as part of the Glencore group of companies. For a brief period in 1980, MIM was Australia's largest company. It has ...

Limited, who provided the site and paid for the construction, the present Tieri War Memorial was completed. Since its construction, many returned servicemen and women have visited the memorial, particularly to commemorate ANZAC Day (25 April) and Long Tan Day (18 August).

Description

The Tieri War Memorial comprises two large pieces of petrified wood. One piece is dedicated as a memorial to those who fought in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and the second piece is dedicated as a memorial to those who served in the Vietnam War, including a brass plaque dedicated to the memory of Cliff ('Cliffy') Bond, who served in Vietnam,

Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...

and

Borneo Borneo () is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world, with an area of , and population of 23,053,723 (2020 national censuses). Situated at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, it is one of the Greater Sunda ...

. The petrified pieces are partly enclosed on one side by a low brick wall. A number of plaques are located on the wall. One plaque commemorates those from the Peak Downs area who served in World Wars One and Two. A second plaque commemorates the tracker dogs of the Vietnam War, (including the names of the eleven dogs) and a third plaque commemorates

VJ Day Victory over Japan Day (also known as V-J Day, Victory in the Pacific Day, or V-P Day) is the day on which Imperial Japan surrendered in World War II, in effect bringing the war to an end. The term has been applied to both of the days on wh ...

. A group of pencil pines create an avenue toward the memorial and a number of

Gallipoli The Gallipoli Peninsula (; ; ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles strait to the east. Gallipoli is the Italian form of the Greek name (), meaning ' ...

pines are located to the rear of the structure. Flag poles are also located to the rear of the memorial.

Heritage listing

Tieri War Memorial was listed on the

on 29 June 2001 having satisfied the following criteria. The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history. War Memorials are important in demonstrating the pattern of Queensland's history as they are representative of a recurrent theme that involved most communities throughout the state. The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places. The memorial at Tieri demonstrates the principal characteristics of a commemorative structure erected as an enduring record of a major historical event. This is achieved through the appropriate use of various elements, particularly commemorative plaques and trees, as well as the more unusual use of petrified wood. The place has a strong or special association with a particular community or cultural group for social, cultural or spiritual reasons. The Tieri War Memorial is especially significant for its strong and continuing association with the community as evidence of the impact of major historic events and as the focal point for the remembrance of those events, particularly as a memorial to those who served in the Vietnam War.

References

Attribution

External links

{{Commons category-inline, Tieri War Memorial Queensland Heritage Register Central Highlands Region World War I memorials in Queensland Articles incorporating text from the Queensland Heritage Register World War II memorials in Queensland Borneo confrontation memorials in Queensland Vietnam War memorials in Queensland Malayan Emergency memorials in Queensland 1984 sculptures Military animals Buildings and structures in Central Queensland