Leslie Park, Warwick 1.74

Warwick War Memorial and Gates is a heritage-listed memorial at Fitzroy Street, Warwick, Southern Downs Region, Queensland, Australia. It was built from 1923 to 1924. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992.HistoryThe Warwick War Memorial was constructed in 1923 and the gates were completed one year later in 1924. It is thought to be designed by Roy and Hugh Campbell and executed by Frank Williams. The memorial honours the 122 local men who fell during the First World War and the gates honour the 377 who served and returned. The memorial is situated on the south-eastern corner of Leslie Park, which has been a recreational square and park for the town since the first surveys in the late 1840s.Warwick was established as an administrative centre of the emerging Darling Downs regions in 1847, with a post office being established in the town in 1848. This year saw the first survey work of the embryonic town completed by surveyor, James Charles Burnett, with further surveys in 1850, and the first sale of crown land in July 1850.These early surveys of Warwick saw land in the central part of town reserved for use as a public square and bounded by Victoria, Guy, Fitzroy and Palmerin Streets and intersected by Albert Street. These two blocks are now known as Leslie Park, in which the War Memorial is situated and Cunningham Park, which is on the block to the north of this.By 1867 the Warwick Argus reports that the Recreation Square presents a very neat appearance, having been surrounded by a wire fence. A description in this report indicates that the square is in two sections, that to the north and south of Albert Street, which is described as a carriage road, and that these two sections are surrounded by the timber and iron fences with entrances at each corner of both sections. From the report it is understood that the square was set aside for healthy and invigorating recreation, and that the provision of such a reserve would ensure the development of Warwick as a desirable and fashionable resort.