The ELTHAM CENOTAPH

The Cenotaph is located on Main Rd, Eltham, between the Library and the town centre, having previously been on the site of the Eltham RSL premises until that Sub Branch was closed in 2011. It initially contained the names of those who died during their military service in WW 1. The names of those who gave their life in subsequent conflicts were added later.

Unfortunately, in January 2026, the cenotaph was desecrated one night, but was quickly restored to its original condition.

Out of respect for the men whose names are on the cenotaph, a report of the service history of each veteran was read at Stand To each night at the MERSL over the subsequent weeks. These nightly reports can be read here.

Each name below contains a link to short stories (mainly, but not only, related to time in service) about those whose names appear on the cenotaph. Click on a name to read some details of each the veteran's military history. Much of the information collected for each story has been obtained from websites associated with the following sources:

• The National Archives of Australia     

• The Australian War Memorial (including Unit Diaries, and Red Cross Missing & Injured Enquiry Bureau, and C.E.W. Bean's Official History of Australia in the War)

• The Victorian Births, Deaths and Marriages Register

• Newspapers of the day (primarily using the Trove collection of the National Library of Australia)

Occasionally, research uncovers more of interest about a particular veteran than can be fitted into the shorter stories referred to above. Notices about such cases are described briefly, with links to the fuller story, after the cenotaph pictures below.

EACH VETERAN'S STORY

(More names will be added over time until all stories have been written)

PTE George BROWN 802     PTE John BROWN 4663        PTE Robert DAVEY 3797       LCPL George MOORE 515   

PTE William PRIOR 2239      CPL George WILLIAMS  70    

LONGER STORIES of INTEREST

The Brown Family

There are more details of interest about the Brown family – in addition to the story about each of the two veterans, George and John (above). John Brown (senior, the boys' father) was the Head Teacher at Eltham Primary School from 1889 until 1906. During that time he had became a widely known and respected member of the community (file #1 below). He was a member of a large family as well as having a large number of children himself. There are also some additional stories, including newspaper articles, which were too long or not directly relevant to the main story about each brother. There are also some newspaper articles about each, and there are some particularly interesting stories about the 'almost sinking' of the Southland troop ship which George and his Battalion were traveling on. The significant part of the episode involves the vital role played by George and about 15 other volunteers. Their efforts were considered important enough to be mentioned in the Commander-in-Chief's Special Order of the Day issued in September 1915 (file #2 below). A longer newspaper article in a file here of some 6 pages describes in detail how events unfolded for George and the entire compliment of soldiers on the ship (#3). The story about the wider Brown family summarizes the names of, and some roles performed by, members of the Brown family over a few generations (#4). And finally, there is another newspaper article about two wooden crosses (#5).