FIND PINKENBA

During WWI, the Pinkenba wharves on the Brisbane River were the point of embarkation for many Australian troops, including members of the Light Horse. Not far from where soldiers were waved off, a solid cairn memorial stands remembering those who did not return. The Pinkenba monument unveiled by His Excellency the Governor Sir Hamilton Goold-Adams on 16 August 1919, records the names of 42 men who enlisted from the Toombul district, eight of whom died. This memorial features the bronze work of skilled Norwegian migrant Ernest Gunderson, also known for his war memorial commissions in Gayndah and Dalby. A plinth of cast rusticated-finish concrete blocks supports an obelisk-like bronze pedestal with Doric columns at each corner. This section contains the honour roll. A small dome sits atop a square platform with an upright artillery shell and a laurel wreath, all in bronze, projecting from the dome. Pinkenba's war memorial is not intact: miniature bronze mounted troopers and soldiers have long since disappeared. A WWII memorial plaque, set on a basalt stone, sits nearby, recording local enlistments and the four who died.