Mall fountain to go in makeover, but cenotaph is safe

The children’s fountain will be discarded but the Remembrance Day columns of Liverpool’s cenotaph in the Macquarie Mall will be relocated when the thoroughfare is reopened to traffic as part of a makeover.

Labor councillor Anne Stanley wanted the cenotaph and the fountain to be relocated – the first to Casula Powerhouse and the second “somewhere suitable”.

But Liberal councillor Tony Hadchiti won the argument and the vote when he suggested that council only relocate the cenotaph memorial to a “suitable site’’.

Former Labor mayor Wendy Waller told council that even though the fountain was 20 years old – it was built in 1994 – when Liverpool residents were asked to name iconic things locally the fountain was always mentioned.

“These things are a part of Liverpool and should not be discarded,’’ Cr Waller said.

Cr Hadchiti argued that the Casula Powerhouse “may not be the best place for the cenotaph’’.

Which is what Cr Peter Harle thought of the current location in the Mall, opposite St Luke’s Anglican Church and Westfield shopping centre.

“This spot in the Mall has never been the right location for the cenotaph,’’ Cr Harle said.

Cr Stanley disagreed:

“The cenotaph is in a place where a lot of people get to see it, because so many people walk past the spot where it is at present.’’

The winning motion put forward by Cr Hadchiti was not that different from Cr Stanley’s.

Council voted to:

♦ Commit the necessary funds to move the War Memorial to a suitable site, (Cr Stanley wanted it at Casula Powerhouse);

♦ Engage with the artist of the cenotaph to ensure that the necessary measurements are made to reinstate the significance of the statue. (That the column becomes whole at 11am on 11/11);

♦ Complete the installation not more than three months after the memorials’ removal from the Mall;

♦ The funds for the relocation should be allocated from the budget for the upgrade to the Mall.

The final difference was that Cr Stanley also wanted the fountain saved and relocated, but it was not to be.

Not with the voting split along party lines, with the independent Peter Harle aligning with the six Liberal councillors lined up against four Labor councillors to get to a 7-4 vote.

Despite the margin a division was called (so that everyone’s vote was recorded).

According to the division, Mayor Ned Mannoun, Cr Gus Balloot, Cr Tony Hadchiti, Cr Mazhar Hadid, Cr Sabrina Mamone, Cr Peter Ristevski and Cr Harle voted for Hadchiti’s motion.

Recorded voting against it were the four Labor councillors:  Ali Karnib, Geoff Shelton, Anne Stanley and Wendy Waller.