Forgetting, sacrifice, and trauma in the Western Australian State War Memorial
Built in 1929, the Western Australian State War Memorial was not the grand structure that many wanted, and its construction was hindered by the resounding failure of two appeals for funds from an apparently apathetic public. State government and city authorities refused to assist unless the memorial...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
| Published: |
Taylor Francis
2013
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/3056 |
| _version_ | 1848744125697884160 |
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| author | Stephens, John |
| author_facet | Stephens, John |
| author_sort | Stephens, John |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Built in 1929, the Western Australian State War Memorial was not the grand structure that many wanted, and its construction was hindered by the resounding failure of two appeals for funds from an apparently apathetic public. State government and city authorities refused to assist unless the memorial was utilitarian, a stance deeply opposed by a State War Memorial Committee committed to a monument and shrine. However, the familiar debate about utility versus monument in war commemoration not only underlined tensions about the visible public recognition due to returned soldiers and the way that the fallen should be honoured, but it coalesced around the problem of how the concepts of sacrifice and trauma generated by the First World War might be memorialised and represented. This article pursues the argument that sacrifice and trauma are crucial to understanding why the committee rejected a utilitarian memorial and persisted with their monument scheme. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T05:56:30Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-3056 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T05:56:30Z |
| publishDate | 2013 |
| publisher | Taylor Francis |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-30562017-09-13T16:06:54Z Forgetting, sacrifice, and trauma in the Western Australian State War Memorial Stephens, John sacrifice trauma monumental memorial forgetting war commemoration Built in 1929, the Western Australian State War Memorial was not the grand structure that many wanted, and its construction was hindered by the resounding failure of two appeals for funds from an apparently apathetic public. State government and city authorities refused to assist unless the memorial was utilitarian, a stance deeply opposed by a State War Memorial Committee committed to a monument and shrine. However, the familiar debate about utility versus monument in war commemoration not only underlined tensions about the visible public recognition due to returned soldiers and the way that the fallen should be honoured, but it coalesced around the problem of how the concepts of sacrifice and trauma generated by the First World War might be memorialised and represented. This article pursues the argument that sacrifice and trauma are crucial to understanding why the committee rejected a utilitarian memorial and persisted with their monument scheme. 2013 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/3056 10.1080/14443058.2013.832700 Taylor Francis fulltext |
| spellingShingle | sacrifice trauma monumental memorial forgetting war commemoration Stephens, John Forgetting, sacrifice, and trauma in the Western Australian State War Memorial |
| title | Forgetting, sacrifice, and trauma in the Western Australian State War Memorial |
| title_full | Forgetting, sacrifice, and trauma in the Western Australian State War Memorial |
| title_fullStr | Forgetting, sacrifice, and trauma in the Western Australian State War Memorial |
| title_full_unstemmed | Forgetting, sacrifice, and trauma in the Western Australian State War Memorial |
| title_short | Forgetting, sacrifice, and trauma in the Western Australian State War Memorial |
| title_sort | forgetting, sacrifice, and trauma in the western australian state war memorial |
| topic | sacrifice trauma monumental memorial forgetting war commemoration |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/3056 |