Blackwood war memorial soldier is back — in a roundabout way

The restored Blackwood war memorial soldier is back on his plinth but residents will have to wait to see him unveiled.

The Blackwood War memorial at Artlab in the city with restorer Ian Miles. Pic. (AAP ROY VANDERVEGT

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The Blackwood war memorial soldier is back — in a roundabout way.

The statue, which has spent the past four months being restored by Artlab Australia, has been moved closer to the Blackwood Uniting Church but remains under plastic.

Residents will have to wait another two weeks for its official unveiling — and the looming Federal election is the main reason why.

The Transport Department is footing the bill for the statue’s makeover, as part of a wider $3.5 million project to realign the Blackwood roundabout.

Artlab project manager Ian Miles has overseen the entire operation that included transporting the memorial, weighing four tonnes, to and from Artlab’s city-base on Kintore Ave.

“He’s looking like a ghost at the moment because I’ve had to cover him over with polyester sheeting,” Mr Miles said.

“We’ve got an official unveiling by politicians on the 18th (April).”

Blackwood Memorial Soldier Statue restored by Artlab Australia in plastic before being unveiled on April 18.

Originally containing 72 names of those from the hills district who served in World War I, the memorial, carved by an unnamed employee of the South Australian Monumental Works, was originally unveiled on June 21, 1921, in front of a crowd of 300.

Newspaper reports from The Register the following day describe the memorial as “an edifice to perpetuate the memory of those who served”.

The restoration work, prompted by the memorial having to be moved a few metres closer to the church to make way for the new roundabout, happened just in the nick of time.

An Artlab investigation revealed the statue, built from three types of local stones, was in imminent danger of collapse.

Given the complexity and delicacy of the work, Mr Miles said “scarily” everything had gone to plan.

“It took some serious lifting and moving to get underneath the statue and make everything sound,” he said.

“I was most worried about the bayonet which is very fragile.

“We had to be ultra careful — this was old weathered stone with serious structural cracks.

“You’ve just got to take your time and keep your fingers crossed. But he looks really good and everyone’s happy with him.”

But Mr Miles is not offering a 100-year guarantee.

“There’s no chance of that as he’ll probably have to moved again in less than 50 years to extend the roundabout further and I won’t be around to see that,” he says.

Frank Collins Memorial Fountain on Blackwood roundabout next: (Pic by Andrew O'Grady)

Next on Mr Miles restoration worksheet is the Frank Collins Memorial which stands over the other side of the roundabout from the war memorial.

The drinking fountain commemorates the sacrifice of Frank Collins, who lost his life in a gallant attempt to save his friend Rodney Saint from drowning in a waterhole in the Sturt River on October 8, 1927.

“It’s all part of the roadworks upgrade,” Mr Miles said.

“They are getting it all done at the same time.”

The notorious Blackwood roundabout was named the state’s worst before the Weatherill government announced the $3.5 million upgrade plan in July 2017.

Residents had campaigned for 27 years for improvements to reduce crashes and traffic congestion.