Tasmania Police has recovered 21 memorial plaques stolen from Hobart’s Soldiers Memorial Avenue last week, with the brass fittings found dumped in Rosny over the weekend.
The plaques, which honour fallen World War I Tasmanian soldiers, were reported stolen from the location last week.
“Whilst these plaques don’t have significant monetary value, they have significant value to the families of the people who have been memorialised here and we are very keen to locate the people responsible,” said Tasmania Police Hobart Division Acting Inspector Danny Jackson.
“It’s appalling that someone would come and take those plaques from here.”
Soldiers Memorial Avenue is a significant heritage site, with more than 530 trees planted to honour Tasmanian soldiers who died in World War I. Each tree is marked with a plaque bearing the name of a fallen soldier.
Friends of Soldiers Memorial Avenue President, John Wadsley said the organisation had been working for more than 24 years to restore the walk, which was an important site of remembrance for Tasmanian families.
“These are really important places. These represent not only the service of someone who died, but also the love of a family that lost someone,” he said.
Anyone with information about the theft of the plaques is asked to contact Tasmania Police on 131 444 or report it anonymously to Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 or crimestopperstas.com.au.
“A huge thank you to everyone who showed such strong support – your interest and sharing of the story helped raised awareness and showed how much this memorial means to Hobart,” City of Hobart Council said in an online post following the recovery of the plaques.
“While the plaques have little to no monetary value, each one tells the unique story of a fallen soldier or nurse. They are priceless to families and costly to recast, so their recovery is incredibly meaningful.”
“We’ll now be working with the Friends of Soldiers Memorial Avenue to return the plaques to their rightful places,” the Council said.
