Liverpool Council has confirmed that moving the cenotaph from Macquarie Mall is going to cost a few dollars more, around $100,000 in fact, but it doesn’t look like it has changed its plans to go ahead anyway with opening up to traffic the block between Moore and Elizabeth Streets. Councillor Anne Stanley, who has been pursuing this issue since it arose, recently sought an answer to this question: “Can I be advised if a decision has been made as to where and when the Cenotaph in the Mall will be relocated and the projected cost?’’
The answer from the council officers was a long one, here is part of it: “The cenotaph located in Macquarie Mall was commissioned by Liverpool City Council in 1994 to coincide with the upgrade of the Mall. Lisa Anderson, the artist collaborated with the local community in the design development phase. The design of this sculpture uses columns as the classical representations of the body, these figures surround the fallen figure, resting on the grass. The garden is constructed in the shape of the demi-glory of bayonets, commonly known as the rising sun badge. The bottom part of the broken stem acts as a sundial at the 11th hour on the 11th month, casting a shadow into the top part of the broken stem and reuniting the figure on Remembrance Day.
“The planned upgrade to Macquarie Mall means that the Cenotaph will have to be removed. It is the wish of the artist Lisa Anderson that it is reinstalled and not decommissioned. The artist has also expressed a wish to be involved in this process…the costs of removal and re-installation are not clear but a likely indicative figure is approximately. $100,000.’’ Councillor Anne Stanley tells me that while she would rather see council leave the cenotaph where it is, if it is to be moved she wants it installed at Casula Powerhouse.
♦ Liverpool City Council will honour our local Anzac heroes by projecting large scale portraits of Liverpool’s First World War soldiers in the CBD every evening, 6pm to midnight at Liverpool station between April 18 and 26. “I invite the community to visit the projections and take the time to reflect on the sacrifices of our servicemen and women,” says the mayor, Ned Mannoun. Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre director Kiersten Fishburn said the projections will be a “haunting and visually stunning reminder of our strong Anzac links here in Liverpool, and an appropriate way to honour our Anzac heroes.”
♦ Anoulack Chanthivong, had only been the elected state member for Macquarie Fields for a few days when he got his first promotion, with opposition leader Luke Foley naming the Campbelltown councillor as one of his parliamentary secretaries to shadow ministers.
♦ Big time boxing is about to make a comeback in the south west when Chin Music Promotions stages seven bouts at the Whitlam Centre on Saturday, May 23. Dave Browne is just one big local name from the world of boxing who will be on the program, but watch this space.
♦ Here’s something to ponder: According to our ever increasing readership figures, almost as many people in the south west are interested in the group 6 rugby league competition as there are interested in the Wests Tigers. But put their big numbers together and it means rugby league still pulls a punch in this region.
