Makara War Memorial

• 1921
• Unveiling

Not assessed

Not assessed

The Makara War Memorial is a concrete four-sided tapering obelisk, enclosed by a concrete surround and rail. The memorial sits atop two steps, an important feature for memorials because they need areas upon which wreathes can be laid. The metal rail runs the perimeter of the memorial, supported by small obelisks.

Above the main plaque on the main obelisk is a triangle containing the only decoration on the memorial. Within the triangle is a rifle crossed with a sword, surmounted by a lemon squeezer hat. The hat is especially notable because it is a symbol commonly associated with New Zealand, and such icons are relatively rare on World War 1 memorials. 

Maker

We do not know the maker of the war memorial at Makara. There is no makers mark or inscription. However, there is some evidence to suggest the memorial may have been sculpted by Wellington monument mason H. Glover. Glover worked in Wellington in the early twentieth century, evidenced by his advertisements in newspapers in the mid-1910s. Glover built the Aro Valley War Memorial in 1920, a year before the Makara memorial was unveiled. It is very similar in design – a four-sided obelisk atop a square base. The similarity of the two monuments and the short period of time between their unveilings suggest that Glover could have sculpted both.

Concrete, marble, metal rail

The Makara War Memorial is located at the intersection of Makara Road and South Makara Road, on the south-western corner of the intersection. The meeting point of Makara’s two most traditionally important roads, the monument is located at a significant junction for the settlement. This central area was known as ‘Printers Flat’ or Makara Junction, and in 1873 was described as a ‘most convenient location in regards to the scattered community of Makara.’ 

Appropriately for purposes of commemoration, the memorial is close to both of Makara’s churches, St Matthias’ and St Patrick’s. The memorial is located in the bottom corner of St Matthias’ churchyard, though on the roadside of the fence. The memorial is further linked to St Matthias’ by the church’s stained glass window of Saint George, which commemorates John Howard Jervis, a local man killed at Gallipoli. The memorial is backed by two kowhai trees, which as Phillipa Hamilton points out, ‘form a sort of guard of honour for the structure’.  The garden to the side of the monument contains rosemary, the herb of remembrance.

• Architectural

  Does the item have architectural or artistic value for characteristics that may include its design, style, era, form, scale, materials, colour, texture, patina of age, quality of space, craftsmanship, smells, and sounds?

  The Makara War Memorial is a simple but elegant structure. A four-sided obelisk upon a concrete base with marble plaque, a feature of notable interest is the lemon squeezer hat that decorates one side of the memorial. The lemon squeezer hat is a symbol closely affiliated with New Zealand. It was rare for New Zealand World War 1 memorials to feature New Zealand iconography, so in this regard the Makara memorial is slightly unusual.

• Group

  Is the item part of a group of buildings, structures, or sites that taken together have coherence because of their age, history, style, scale, materials, or use?

  The Makara War Memorial is one of almost 500 World War 1 memorials in New Zealand, and it has some group connection to those. It also has group value stylistically to the many obelisk-type memorials popular in New Zealand at the time.

• Townscape

  Does the item have townscape value for the part it plays in defining a space or street; providing visual interest; its role as a landmark; or the contribution it makes to the character and sense of place of Wellington?

  The Makara War Memorial is a landmark in Makara. It stands at an important intersection for the village and close to the road, meaning it is a prominent object in the area.

• Association

  Is the item associated with an important historic event, theme, pattern, phase, or activity?

  The Makara War Memorial is very historically significant. A commemoration of World War 1 and the Makara men who died in the conflict, the memorial is a marker of a major historical event, one which we still actively remember today. The memorial represents an important part of Makara’s, and New Zealand’s, history.

• Association

  Is the item associated with an important person, group, or organisation?

  The Makara War Memorial is associated with the seven men from Makara who served and died in World War 1. It is their names that are inscribed upon the marble plaque.

Not assessed

• Public Esteem

  Is the item held in high public esteem?

  The Makara War Memorial is held in high public esteem. It is still the site of Makara’s Anzac Day commemorations.

• Symbolic - Commemorative - Traditional - Spiritual

  Does the item have symbolic, commemorative, traditional, spiritual or other cultural value for the community who has used and continues to use it?

  The Makara War Memorial has high commemorative value as a memorial of World War 1 and the Makara men who died in the conflict.

• Sentiment - Connection

  Is the item a focus of community sentiment and connection?

  The Makara War Memorial is a focus of community sentiment as the site of the community’s Anzac Day commemorations.

• Rare

  Is the item rare, unique, unusual, seminal, influential, or outstanding?

  The Makara War Memorial is unusual for the representation of the lemon squeezer hat on the memorial. New Zealand iconography such as the hat is not typically represented on New Zealand’s World War 1 memorials.

• Representative

  Is the item a good example of the class it represents?

  The Makara War Memorial is a good example of a World War 1 memorial. The choice of the obelisk reflects how popular this style was at the time. 

• Authentic

  Does the item have authenticity or integrity because it retains significant fabric from the time of its construction or from later periods when important additions or modifications were carried out?

  The Makara War Memorial has a high degree of authenticity. It is original in fabric and in location.

• Importance

  Is the item important at a local, regional, national, or international level?

  The Makara War Memorial is important at a national level
  

Not assessed

• Hamilton, Phillipa. ‘War Memorial, Makara’. New Zealand Historic Places Trust notes, 28 June 2012
• ____. ‘War Memorial’. New Zealand Historic Places Trust. 4 May 2012. Last accessed November 2013 at
• 'Makara church window war memorial '. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Updated 15 July 2013, last accessed at
• 'Makara war memorial '. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Updated 20 December 2012. Last accessed November 2013
• ‘War Memorial’. Evening Post. Volume CI, Issue 121, 23 May 1921, Page 9

• Inventory report

Not available