THE last post has been played for the much loved Katherine Cenotaph.
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The Katherine RSL sub-branch plans to move to a new location away from the main street by next year’s Anzac Day.
“The event has outgrown the location, anyone who was there yesterday could see that,” sub-branch president Mark Hagger said.
“We are really pushing for all the work to be done by this time next year,” Mr Hagger said.
He said it would be up to Katherine Town Council whether or not it wanted to keep the present cenotaph, officially opened 28 years ago.
The sub-branch is not planning to move the present cenotaph, other than the Olney Bell, but wants to build a new structure and flag poles on a bigger location in Railway Terrace.
“There have been one or two comments about disrespect be shown to the people who built the current cenotaph but the overwhelming majority of people support it being moved,” Mr Hagger said.
The cenotaph, on the corner of Stuart Highway and O`Shea Terrace and adjacent to the Katherine River bridge, was officially opened at its current location on Anzac Day in 1989.
The Katherine RSL last year received a grant of $181,689 from the NT Government to relocate the cenotaph.
The council is helping with zoning and providing some of its own land for the job, and the sub-branch has contributed $20,000 to the project.
Although the official announcement on the new cenotaph says “relocate” Mr Hagger said the present cenotaph would stay where it was.
“It will be up to the council what they do with it,” he said.
“By creating a new cenotaph we mean no disrespect or disservice who those who fought to have it put there in the past but we are trying to deal with the issues of today.
“One of the initial catalysts in the debate was a discussion that was had some years ago about widening the road which would have meant losing a third of what we already have, which is not enough.”
Mr Hagger said there would be much more room for the growing number of attendees for Anzac ceremonies at their new location in Railway Terrace.
He said land zoning could be easily sorted and a large drain would be filled in.
“We are not expecting any backlash,” he said.
Mr Hagger said this week’s Anzac ceremonies continued the upward trend in interest.
“The numbers just go up and up every year.”
Mayor Fay Miller today said Katherine Town Council will be holding a community information session soon to show the community the plans that KTC and the Katherine Region Economic Development Committee have been working on for some time - and to have feedback from community members.
“This includes the plans for Railway Terrace and the proposed location of the cenotaph,” she said.