Morrinsville First World War memorial

Stone obelisk set on lawn against stand of trees

Morrinsville war memorial Words inscribed on stone in gold lettering Words inscribed on stone in gold lettering List of names inscribed on stone in gold lettering List of names inscribed on stone in gold lettering

Governor-General Viscount Jellicoe unveiled the Morrinsville and District First World War memorial on 30 April 1922. This is a tall granite obelisk on an elevated site in Howie Park (donated by Mr G Howie as a memorial park) on the eastern side of the township. The dedication on the front of the obelisk reads:

TO THE GLORY OF GOD / AND IN MEMORY OF THE MEN / FROM THIS DISTRICT / WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES / IN THE GREAT WAR / 1914 - 1918. / THEIR NAMES ARE INSCRIBED HEREON / - / THIS MONUMENT / WAS ERECTED BY THE PEOPLE / OF MORRINSVILLE / AND SURROUNDING DISTRICTS.

There are on two other faces a total of 71 names. The first listed is - unusually - a clergyman: Rev. C.A. Mallett C.M., a former vicar of Morrinsville, who died in a hut fire in France in September 1918 (he was one of seven New Zealand military chaplains who died as a result of service in the First World War).

See: 'War memorial unveiled at Morrinsville', Auckland Star, 1/5/1922, p. 7; P.S. Hanan, Lest We Forget: The History of Morrinsville's RSA, Morrinsville, 2004, pp. 54-7.

Community contributions

2 comments have been posted about Morrinsville First World War memorial

What do you know?

Rita J Hohener

Posted: 02 Jan 2011

if you want to know more about Morrinsville and District people please contact Morrinsville Historical Society.

Rita J Hohener

Posted: 06 Jul 2009

thought you might be interested to know that the local memorial here in Morrinsville has been all upgraded and now looking really nice and easier to approach Rita