Wagga Wagga City Council has welcomed a funding grant from the Federal Government for the remediation of the Wagga Wagga Honour Roll and Eternal Flame Memorial at the Victory Memorial Gardens.
At its Ordinary Meeting on Monday 28 April, Council approved entering into a funding agreement with Department of Veterans' Affairs for $147,425 of grant funding under the Saluting Their Service Commemorative Grants Program 2024-2025.
Manager City Growth & Regional Assets Ben Creighton says the grant will enable Council to undertake the crucial remediation works on this significant memorial in the Wagga Wagga community.
"Erected in 1990, the Honour Roll and Eternal Flame Memorial features the names of men and women from the district who served in armed conflicts from the Anglo-Boer War and World War II, through to Afghanistan, as well as Peacekeeping missions," Mr Creighton said.
"Late last year, discussions between Council staff, the mayor, and the Wagga Wagga RSL sub-Branch identified there was a need for remediation work on the Honour Roll walls and the Eternal Flame and the pond it sits in.
"Inspections found the existing structure was being impacted by moisture seeping into the wall, causing blistering to the paint and render.
"The work that we'll do now will essentially remediate that and make sure that the war memorial will be there for the generations to come."
After consultation with experienced building and construction contractors, Council made a grant application to the Federal Government's Saluting Their Service Commemorative Grants Program, to allow remediation works to be undertaken.
The works will include replacing the existing render on the Honour Roll walls and moving an existing garden bed and adjacent sprinklers on the north side of the Memorial to allow for better drainage.
After consultation with experienced building and construction contractors, Council made a grant application to the Federal Government's Saluting Their Service Commemorative Grants Program, to allow remediation works to be undertaken.
The works will include replacing the existing render on the Honour Roll walls and moving an existing garden bed and adjacent sprinklers on the north side of the Memorial to allow for better drainage.
Pavers inside the Memorial will be removed to allow for the installation of sub-soil drainage before new concrete pavement is placed, while the pond will undergo waterproofing and retiling, and the energy lines to the Eternal Flame will be renewed.
"During the project, the Honour Roll and Eternal Flame Memorial will be closed to the public to allow the remediation works to be carried out safely and as quickly as possible," Mr Creighton said.
"The works are expected to take several months to complete, subject to the weather over winter and what we find when we start pulling up the pavers and working on the pond.
"We would like to have it all completed within six months, so the Memorial is ready to reopen in time for Remembrance Day on 11 November."
It is proposed the works will commence shortly, weather permitting.
