Home-Brooklyn School remembers
- Brooklyn Memorial
- Killed in action - their stories A-D
- Killed in action - their stories E-H
- Killed in action - their stories J-R
- Killed in action - their stories S-W
- Ashleigh Bruce Fitchett - his story
- Soldiers who returned - their stories
- Brooklyn School
- Reflection - what it means to us
- Our team
- Research process
- Learning outcomes
- References and acknowledgements
Brooklyn Memorial
The Brooklyn War Memorial was built on the top of Sugar Loaf Hill in 1923 to remember the men who fought in World War 1.
The Memorial lists 48 names of local soldiers who died in World War 1 and the nearly 300 who served in the Expeditionary Forces. All of them lived in the Brooklyn area.
It is 30 feet high including at the top, an eight-foot high white marble figure holding a hat representing a NZ soldier looking back across Gallipoli. The names are inscribed on granite on all four sides of the bases.
There was much argument about where the memorial would be built. Many people wanted it to be in Central Park, others wanted it to be on Washington Ave, and some of those people sent letters to Council saying how much they didn't want the memorial on Sugar Loaf Hill.
One of the down sides of building the memorial on Sugar Loaf Hill is that it is quite hard to access but an upside is that you can see it from almost anywhere in Brooklyn and it has an amazing view over Wellington.
The Memorial stands looking out towards Brooklyn and is now surrounded by trees. A nice little area has formed around it leaving a perfect place for a picnic or the end of a walk.
You can read all the names on the memorial here.
Robson, Edward Thomas, 1875-1953. Robson, Edward Thomas, fl 1920s-1940s? :Brooklyn, Wellington. Ref: 1/2-060380. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. http://natlib.govt.nz/records/22430476
Raine, William Hall, 1892-1955. War memorial, Sugar Loaf Hill, Brooklyn, Wellington. Original photographic prints and postcards from file print collection, Box 2. Ref: PAColl-5584-38. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. http://natlib.govt.nz/records/22781094
