Maungaraki war memorial, Gladstone

Maungaraki war memorial on the Maungaraki Range.

Memorial row of oaks near Gladstone.

About the oak trees

The oaks and the memorial were erected by the Maungaraki War Memorial Committee and they memorialise the war dead from the wider Maungaraki area.

Following World War Two a committee was formed to decide on an appropriate memorial for the war dead of the Maungaraki district. There were two schools of thought on the most appropriate form of the memorial. One group wanted to establish a War Memorial Sports ground with a large arch to commemorate the war dead. The other group wanted to place a monument on the top of the bank over the Taueru River, near Gladstone. The river had recently been spanned by a new bridge and a road deviation had been cut through the bank. This group also wanted to plant an avenue of trees leading to the bridge from the north, and to light the bridge and dedicate it as a memorial .

The latter group won the day and the memorial was placed on the top of the bank in what was then the Wairarapa South County, now Carterton District. Thirty six scarlet oaks were planted on the road side leading to the bridge from the north. This road was in Masterton County, now Masterton District - I am not quite sure why it was 36 as there are 34 names on the memorial. Perhaps there were two spares. The bridge was never dedicated though, and remains unlit.