This is a poor photograph of a WW1 "War Trophy" gun allocated to the Melbourne suburb of Collingwood. No. 548 it is a 150mm howitzer captured in France by A Corps on 18 Sep 1918.
It is in Darling Gardens, Clifton Hill (the Hoddle Street end of the park).
This is a classic case of a significant gun needing a lot of tender loving care. It is in an inner city setting, is very conspicuous and yet absolutely neglected. How to get it restored and placed in a situation where it can be preserved, that is the question? To get suitable replacement wheels, build overhead cover and to generally clean it up would probably cost about $20.000, just the sort of amount that councils don't want to hear about.
-- Edited by sandy1000 on Friday 25th of December 2009 02:31:21 AM
There are grants available from the Federal Government for the refurbishment of old guns. Usually it's a reflection of the views of councilors about anything military.
It's long past time to heritage list the WW1 guns in Australia to force the councils to look after them or take them away so they can be maintained and displayed. All of the WW1 guns were given to local authorities only after the council entered into a legal agreement with the Government to display and maintain the guns in perpetuity.
The difference in treatment between the Collingwood gun and similar guns at Rosewood and Wandoan is quite startling.
This piece has since been removed from the park and languishes in a Yarra council depot. The bureaucrats have been stirred to positive action. There's now a great opportunity with Richmond RSL having been assured a DVA grant and having army support, to have the gun remain in the public domain. Of course there are other players offering Council help to get rid of the problem. There's a council meeting on TUE JUN 5 2018 Anyone may attend to demonstrate their support.
