Historical Sites and Heritage Locations

The Shepparton and District War Memorial is bordered by Marungi, Welsford and Fryers Streets. The site replaces the former memorial on Fryers Street and now comprises a large area paved with flagstones, a cross made of lawn and two sculptures of infantrymen (including the original memorial’s 1924 sculpture) set against angular white walls. The white wall of the memorial is dedicated to fallen servicemen and those who fought in the Boer War, First World War, Second World War, Korea, Malaya, Borneo, Vietnam, East Timor, Iraq and Afghanistan.

The 1924 sculpture, Helping Hand by Web Gilbert, depicts Pte. John Raws reaching his hand down to help his brother Robert from the trenches at St. Quentin during the First World War. Both were killed in action at Pozieres. The second sculpture, Bela Angyal’s 2000 sculpture Mateship, was inspired by the famous World War II photographer, Damian Parer, and his image of a temporarily wounded and blinded Pte. Wally Johnson being helped by Sgt. Gordon Ayre, of Shepparton, across the Francisco River in Papua New Guinea.