Bunbury RSL in bid to move city’s war memorial from curbside location to ANZAC Park by its 100th birthday

The president of Bunbury’s Returned and Services League sub-branch is leading the call for the city’s war memorial to be shifted away from the roadside in time for its 100th birthday. Dedicated to all Australians who fought for their country, the war memorial sits at the edge of Anzac Park at the intersection of Victoria and Stirling streets in the CBD. Its roadside location means services held at the site require traffic management to allow attendees to safely stand on the road when observing. Bunbury RSL president John Gelmi used the end of Thursday’s Remembrance Day commemorative service to tell the community how moving the memorial would help provide a safer place for people to pay their respects and called for the change to happen before its 100th birthday in 2024. Mr Gelmi told the Times he wanted the memorial moved about 30m into Anzac Park to include a walkway to the memorial and connect it with the CBD and senior’s centre. “It’s something that needs happening ... it’s in a bad state of repair,” he said. “It’s 100 years coming up, we want it to last another 100 years and I think it would last a lot longer away from all the traffic and in the park.” Mr Gelmi likened the RSL’s general plan to the State War Memorial at Kings Park. “We’d put a plaque where the memorial is (now) to signify this is where the original memorial was and the date it was moved,” he said. “It will give us a better parade area and it will be more people friendly — they can sit in the park, walk around the memorial. “If they want to take a photo of the memorial at the moment they’ve got to stand in the middle of the road. “That way they’ll be able to stand there and take a photo and enjoy the ambience of the whole park.” Mr Gelmi said it could be an expensive process, but the RSL was investigating the costs and potential grants available and had been in contact with the City of Bunbury.