A plain but dignified granite obelisk stands on Kaiti Hill, Gisborne, overlooking the port. It bears the simple inscription: ‘To our boys who in the Great War died or were found willing to die for the Empire. This memorial was erected by their comrades, January 1923.’
The memorial was built to honour employees of the Gisborne Sheepfarmers Frozen Meat Company who served during the war. It was paid for by subscriptions from fellow workers and a generous donation from the company. It was unveiled by Mr A.C.A. de Latour, ex-chairman of directors of the company, on the afternoon of Anzac Day 1923.
Sources: ‘War Memorials’, Poverty Bay Herald, 15/6/1920, p. 5; ‘Memorials Unveiled’, Hawera & Normanby Star, 26/4/1923, p. 8.
Information and images: Bruce Ringer, Auckland Libraries, 2015