Volunteer enlistment in WWI was enthusiastic across Australia as was the grief as word made it back home of lost lives, some 60,000 mostly young men during the five year conflict.
Land was allocated for Anzac Memorial Park in 1924 with trees and grass planted.
Built by Rockhampton stonemason Mr F Allen at a cost £1702, the tall granite needle-like column was delivered in three pieces. Its installation through a series of ropes and pulleys provided quite a spectacle for the residents. Financed through a combined venture of the neighbouring Longreach and Ilfracombe shires, it bears 90 names listed under four headings: Remembrance, Freedom, Unity and Sacrifice.
Longreach War Memorial was unveiled by the shire chairman RLH Petersen on ANZAC Day 1927.
Set in a park, a set of steps leading up from the highway through town, this memorial remains the focus for ANZAC remembrance ceremonies....
