Miriam Vale War Memorial

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Miriam Vale War Memorial is a heritage-listed monument in Blomfield Street, Miriam Vale, in the Gladstone Region of Queensland, Australia. Built in 1921, it was raised to honour the local men who died in World War I. Public subscription funded the project, and the Brisbane firm AL Petrie & Son designed and built it at a cost of £238, including the iron fence.

The memorial features a life-sized stone statue of an Australian Infantry soldier with his head bowed and arms reversed, set on an ornate sandstone pedestal on a granite plinth. The pedestal has gabled cornices with a moulded wreath on the front gable. Marble plates on all faces carry inscriptions and the names of 13 local men who died in 1914–1919, with the well-known phrase “Their names liveth for evermore.” A southeast plate lists the Second World War names (8 local men). The words Miriam Vale Roll of Honour are cast on the front base of the pedestal.

The monument sits in a long, grassy park reserve beside the railway and Bloomfield Street, facing the morning light and the railway station to the northeast. It is framed by trees and an older streetscape from the early to mid-20th century. The enclosure includes a concrete kerb and an iron-stake fence with a gate, a two-rail timber fence, wrought-iron gates, and a flagpole at the corner. A notable Big Fig tree near the park grounds contributes to the setting.

Unveiled on 14 December 1921 by John William Fletcher, the local member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly, the memorial later received an inscription for World War II deaths. The surrounding fence is a later addition.

Miriam Vale War Memorial was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992. It is valued as a lasting example of public memorials funded by the community, reflecting early 20th-century attitudes and Australian nationhood. The memorial’s pedestal design is rare in Queensland, and the work of AL Petrie & Son helped shape the tradition of local digger monuments in the state.