There is a World War l skit which epitomises the failure of Townsville civic, military and media organisations to get the message that the war memorials in the garrison city have long been neglected - still are .
The skit , which always raised laughs, dealt with the difficulty troops at the front had getting vital messages back to base and being acted on . A message was sent from the battlefront saying they were about to advance and to send reinforcements . However, a radio operator ran into HQ and blurted out the vital message to the top brass : " Send three and fourpence, we are going to a dance !"
In Townsville , where there is much dancing and running about in circles to the accompaniment of spin , the message about the memorials has fallen on deaf ears .
Despite the Australian War Memorial in Canberra being made aware of the situation along with the Townsville City Council and several military associations , come for a tour of some of the city's memorials .
Start with the chunder or some other kind of gross splash pattern , above, at the entrance to the old ticket office at the Townsville Railway Station with its WWl memorial to railway staff, in need of a sweep .
Now, just across the way , at the start of Townsville's Civic Pride Trail , is the long neglected Victory in the Pacific Fountain , which I recently reported had takeaway food eating items floating about in it, some submerged , a small butane gas bottle on the bottom , a large band aid attached to the brickwork ; the top chamber collapsing . In the nearby bus shelter there was much graffiti , what looked like a bandage or knee guard under a seat .
A week later, March 7 , the fountain , above , had various items visible , some from the week before , indicating there had been no maintenance during the period , sticks, stones , leaves . The offensive band aid was doubled up on the footpath , on which there was broken brickwork dangerous to pedestrians
At the grotty bus shelter , the bandage or knee guard , looking more like the former, was in a welter of cigarette butts , leaves , other rubbish . Sticking out from the structure on high was a McDonald's container complete with a straw .
This sorry state of affairs existed while a team of workmen , armed with a ride on mower , whipper snipper and other gear were attending to the Railway Oval in which the fountain is situated . The fountain and bus shelter were apparently not on their list of jobs for that day -or any other ?
On the same day , down at the Anzac Memorial Park , with its scattered crop of mushrooms , where the fountain commemorating Queensland celebrating 100 years of breaking away from New South Wales was not working and slimy , the large Coral Sea Battle memorial , long in need of attention to make its text and battle details more legible, the area required removal of leaves, twigs , fronds , ground in fruit .
Forgotten North Queensland Garden of Remembrance
The central plaque in the nearby above memorial deals specifically with Townsville during World War ll , but is almost illegible , a situation which has existed for a long time , and defies belief that it is has been allowed to do so without anybody in authority noticing , taking action to remedy the situation.
As pointed out previously , these war memorials are local and national shrines and should be properly maintained , checked daily . It is disrespectfull to those involved in the conflicts not to look after the memorials. Dare it be mentioned that in this tourist city they are also part of the tourist attractions. Also pointed out in the past is the fact that Victory in the Pacific Fountain /Railway memorial are just down the road from the Townsville Bulletin and Channel 10 ; the Anzac Memorial Park is just a short walk from the ABC office . Maps and seeing eye dogs available for reporters .
March 14 update
Victory in Pacific Fountain still has weeks old rubbish in bottom chamber , new can floating . Empty fruity lexia cardboard box nearby, McDonalds drink container jutting out at 90 degrees from bus shelter gone, so had bandage under seat and some of the rubbish . Railway old ticket office with WWl honour board , as usual , still displaying leaves scattered about, found to be from tubs of shrubs on the platform that are blown in . Move tubs and overcome this problem .
