Coaldale-Barrett's Creek First and Second World Wars Honour Roll

The memorial is a stained and polished timber honour roll, with a scalloped edge pediment at the top and carved supports on either side. The names are printed in gold and divided into four sections: the 1st Australian Imperial Force (A.I.F.), 2nd A.I.F., Air Force, and Volunteer Defence Corps (V.D.C.).

The roll was unveiled at the Coaldale Hall on 25 March 1949. The event was advertised in the Daily Examiner on 19 March. The ad read:

All Ex-service Personnel who enlisted from Coaldale, Barrett's District are cordially invited to attend the Unveiling Ceremony to be held March 25 in the Coaldale Hall at 8 p.m.

On 2 April, the Examiner published a brief report of the well-attended event. Speeches were given by Reverend Costello and Mr C.G. Wingfield M.L.A., who also performed the unveiling.

The hall is now known as the Coaldale Barretts Creek Memorial Centre and is used for various commemorative services. Access to the memorial is restricted to the opening hours of the centre. 

About the hall

The original Coaldale Hall was opened on Friday, 9 June 1922. Many years later, a Coledale-Barrett's Creek branch of the Clarence River Patriotic and War Fund was formed and held its annual meeting in the hall in April 1945. The branch raised money by holding dances and sports days.

The Macleay Argus, 29 August 1949, described a sports day at the local racecourse, stating it was a fundraising event for the "Coledale-Barretts Creek Memorial Hall Fund." An article in the Daily Examiner on 8 November reported ₤83/19/1 was raised. By the annual committee meeting in March 1950, there was a large credit balance of ₤309/12/6 available and fundraising would continue throughout the year (Daily Examiner, 6 March 1950). It is uncertain when the hall was renamed or unveiled as the Coledale-Barrett's War Memorial Hall.

Speaking about the history of the centre in January 2021, the Coaldale-Barretts Creek Memorial Centre Committee said "the school known as the Coalcroft School was on this site and the [Coaldale] Hall was further up the road. The hall was relocated and attached to the school. The school is the supper room of the current hall."

Notes

• Historical information about the present centre was provided by Allan and Lyndall Reardon of the Coaldale-Barretts Creek Memorial Centre Committee.
• Research on the veterans listed in the table below was conducted using the A.I.F. Project website and Clarence Valley World War 1 Volunteers, by Tony Morley (Grafton, January 2004).