'Don't use chewing gum on memorial,' say restorers
The Rookwood Cemetery monumental heritage team has restored the Woy Woy War Memorial from the damaging effects of chewing gum, high-pressure water cleaners and previous poor repair work.
The team had two messages: Chewing gum should never be on a war memorial, and never use a high-pressure cleaner on a war memorial or headstone.
If the memorial is to last into the future, the practice of attaching poppies to the monument with chewing gum on Anzac Day will have to stop, according to the Gosford-based Poppy Project group.
"Many are unaware of the damage that is done unknowingly."
The group has urged community members to refrain from using chewing gum in future.
It has also asked the council not to use a high-pressure cleaner on the memorial.
"One of the most damaging things we can do to ruin a memorial or headstone is to use a high pressure cleaner to wash and clean historic monuments.
"Unfortunately, a high pressure cleaner has clearly been used on the Woy Woy Memorial in the past, and has removed the clear definition of the decorative features on this monument."
The conservation and restoration project for the War Memorial erected in 1925 was made possible by a $9600 grant from the NSW Community War Memorials Fund and a $10,000 grant from a Federal Saluting Their Service Commemorative Grant.
The group said that the cenotaph was originally provided by public subscription and that the park was designed around the Australian flag and associated symbolism of the First World War.
The upper part of the memorial was made of prized Wondabyne sandstone, with the memorial maker being T Andrews and Sons of Lidcombe.
Repair work included stabilising the cracked spire, fixing cracks in the spire's base blocks and repairing the lead lettering on the marble inscription plates
It also involved removal and replacement of failed epoxy patches, armatures and missing stone portions of the pedestal base and plinth.
SOURCE:
Social media, 23 Jun 2021
Poppy Project, Never Forgetting the Sacrifices
Website, 3 Aug 2021
Central Coast Council