Coral Bay residents reject portable war memorial proposal, demand permanent structure

Residents of a small coastal town in Western Australia, joined by the local RSL, are rebuking a bureaucratic proposal the town make do with a portable war memorial.

Coral Bay, about 1,100 kilometres north of Perth in WA's Gascoyne, has been lobbying for several years for a permanent war memorial to be built.

Locals have pushed for a permanent memorial in Baz's Park, where several hundred people gather each year for the dawn service on Anzac Day.

But WA's Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA), which manages the reserve, refuses to allow a permanent structure to be built.

"We have so many tourists in town, along with the community, that love to honour and remember our Anzacs by attending the dawn service," resident of six years Jacqui Price said.

Ms Price said a permanent war memorial would be a focal point for commemorations, allowing a place to reflect or lay a wreath.

"It's important; people are increasingly realising what sacrifices were made and these memorials remind us," she said.

Design and funding for a stone memorial has been approved by the state RSL and the organisation's Gascoyne sub branch.

The Carnarvon Shire, Coral Bay Progress Association and traditional owners have also approved the design, which incorporates two low white intersecting curves and two flagpoles.

Transportable option rebuked

In place of a permanent structure, the DBCA has suggested a portable memorial.

President of Gascoyne RSL Sandy McGinn said an object would not meet league approval and could not be considered a proper memorial.

"I think it's bureaucracy gone stupid, to be quite frank," Mr McGinn said.

"That sort of thing will not fly."

The department recommended relocating the proposed memorial to "alternative land holdings", but under the township's multiple tenures there is no public open space except Baz's Park.

In a statement, a DBCA spokesperson said the construction of permanent memorials on managed reserves was "generally not supported".

"This approach helps to protect the natural, cultural and aesthetic values of these areas," the spokesperson said.

"And avoids the proliferation of permanent structures that may affect their environmental, cultural and social significance."

Public facilities at Baz's Park include toilets and showers, barbecues and fish-cleaning stations, which are managed by both the shire and residents.

The lawn is watered and maintained by staff at a nearby caravan park.

"I would just like them to consider … what is their reasoning in denying the community of Coral Bay and the people that come to visit an opportunity to show their respect?" Ms Price said.

"[We need] to have somewhere to remember our fallen soldiers and all those who fought for our peace."

Mr McGinn says country towns — and Coral Bay in particular, with its large seasonal population of older people — deserve a memorial.

"It gives them somewhere to reflect. That's one of the reasons why it's [the proposed memorial] designed the way it is," he said.