Day’s focus on memorial

By Sarah Schwager
REMEMBRANCE Day at Kooweerup was a whole town affair with those involved sheltering from the rain at Kooweerup Secondary College.
The day also highlighted the town’s plea for a war memorial at Cochrane Park with various groups’ making donations to the memorial.
The war memorial is an initiative of Kooweerup RSL, which hopes to have it built by Anzac Day next year.
Kooweerup RSL president Ron Ingram said he was very pleased to be part of the service at the secondary college and he hoped to be part of it again.
“It was very emotional in the hall today. There was a hardly a murmur from the students.”
Year nine student and bandleader Darcy Manks, 15, played the Last Post.
Darcy said he had played the trumpet for three years and was given the bugle a month ago to practise on.
“I was a bit nervous at first,” he said.
The party then proceeded to Cochrane Park for the handing over of the cheques.
The Lions Club, Ray White Real Estate and the secondary college each donated a total of $4000 to the RSL towards the memorial.
The RSL applied to Cardinia Shire to have the memorial put in the park a few months ago but there is still dispute over where it will go.
The RSL wants to see it in the circle of grass outside the Kooweerup Community Centre.
Mr Ingram said one day they hoped to use the building as the RSL with historic memorabilia such as an honour board.
He said down the track they may not be able to keep the current RSL hall going.
He said there were only four World War II veterans who were in their 80s and four Vietnam War veterans in the RSL and they would not be around for that much longer.
“It’s not a priority now but we have to face facts.”
Mr Ingram said councillor Doug Hamilton had been very helpful and supportive of what they were doing and had arranged a meeting with council for this week.
He said they expected it would cost between $10,000 and $12,000 to do the names.
The granite and installation are being donated.
“We have $6000 so far and haven’t even asked for funding yet,” he said.
Mr Ingram said they were potentially eligible for $4000 funding from the Federal Government and $7000 from the State Government.
“We’re very pleased with where we’re at,” he said.
Mr Ingram said there was a lot of war history in Kooweerup with 64 people from the town going off to wars and 19 being killed.