Sunday, August 9, 2015

PACIFIC WAR MEMORIAL NEGLECTED


Much  publicity is being  given  in Townsville  to  the looming celebrations to mark the 70th  anniversary  of  the  end of  the war in the  Pacific. The Townsville Bulletin, for example , ran a  front  page  story  about  four women  who served in the Australian Women's  Army Service in World War ll , which  announced  the paper would run a special VP70 feature  on Saturday , August 15   to  mark  the  major event. Just up the road from  the  newspaper  at the Railway Oval  is the   Victory  Fountain VP5O , lettering  badly faded or  missing , making it hard to  read . Another   plaque (above)  says  the  oval  was reopened as part of the VP50 celebrations  in  1995.

 Little Darwin  recently  reported  the fountain was not working properly;it now is .  Excavations  about  the  fountain  area for Optus and  Telstra  have produced uneven  paths  at  the  busy intersection making it look as if  hostilities  have  resumed  in  the  Pacific. Adjacent to the  fountain  is  a  civic trail information  sign which is faded , hard  to read , plastic  cladding torn and   flapping in the breeze when  we  last  looked .