Hillside railway workshops roll of honour board

Hillside railway workshops roll of honour board

In 1916, workers at Dunedin’s Hillside railway workshops unveiled a roll of honour board in the library at their social hall. This listed staff members who were serving in the First World War and those who had died. The oak board, with beaten copper, was designed by Robert Hawcridge, Director of Dunedin’s School of Art, with students of that institution and the Christchurch School of Art undertaking the work. It included ‘N.Z.R.’ in ‘bright copper letters’ made by E.C. Isaac, the Dominion Director of Technical Schools. It contained three panels – the two on each side were intended for the names of those serving and the one at the centre for the fallen. At this stage the men’s names were listed on typewritten sheets with the intention that they be replaced by brass plate. Following the end of the war, in 1919, the sheets were duly replaced with brass plates.

In 1920 the Railways Department considered erecting a board at Hillside as part of its post-war plans to commemorate all railwaymen who had died. This would be one of 15 boards around the country commemorating men from each rail district, the five main railway workshops and head office. A number of these proceeded but it does not appear that the Hillside board did, perhaps because one already existed. In 1922 the Railways Department commemorated all railwaymen who had died in a roll of honour board at the department's head office.

When new First and Second World War roll of honour boards were made for Hillside in 1949, the 1916 board was removed from the social hall.

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