GEORGE NEWS - All members of the public are invited to a public meeting at the Moth Shell Hole at 6 Rijk Tulbach Street in Loerie Park on 10 March at 18:00.

George Herald reported last week that a public meeting will be held on 11 March to seek the community's views and formulate a recommendation to Heritage Western Cape regarding the possible moving of the three name plaques from the Garden Route Botanical Garden (GRBT) to the cenotaph of the Moths. 

This week, however, Corné Brink, manager and curator of the Garden Route Botanical Garden, said the meeting has been moved to 10 March as neither the botanical garden or Moth Shellhole is available on 11 March.

Covid-19 regulations will apply.

The meeting is organised by the Simon van der Stel Foundation: Southern Cape and the George Heritage Trust in collaboration with the GRBT and the George Munici-pality.

"We require a public participation meeting to ensure that the general public are aware of the reasons behind the necessity to move the War Memorial Cenotaph from the botanical garden, and so that all interested parties can share their views and fears on the issue," said Brink.

The memorial was erected by public subscription at the junction of Courtenay and York streets to commemorate members of the Allied Forces from the Southern Cape who died in the two world wars.

Due to development and the increase in traffic, the plaques were later moved to a new memorial in the botanical garden.

Public meeting on relocation of Wall of Remembrance 
Local historian Lynne Thompson has aired her concern about the proposed relocation of the Wall of Remembrance from the Garden Route Botanical Garden to the premises of the Moths.

The topic will be discussed at a public meeting that is to be held at the Moth Hall on Wednesday 10 March at 18:00.

Interested persons may phone Pieter Viljoen on 082 563 8207 for more information regarding the meeting.

Below is Thompson's view with a response from Roger Bath, chairperson of the Garden Route Botanical Garden Trust. 

Lynne Thompson writes:
The Garden of Remembrance was erected in 1933 at the top of York Street by a group of Georgians in front of the Old Drostdy building, now the George Museum. This wall recorded the names of the men who lost their lives in the two World Wars and as such was a Cultural Heritage Object.

When the circle was constructed in Courtenay Street at the top of York Street in 2002, the Wall of Remembrance was bulldozed. The engraved tablets, with the names of men from all communities in George, were salvaged by museum staff and volunteers. The wall was reconstructed by the group of concerned citizens in the Garden Route Botanical Garden in 2004. This location is in keeping with countries all over the world that have built various forms of memorials to their fallen in their botanical gardens.

There is now a proposal to move the tablets to the premises of the Moths, a club for ex-servicemen. The reason given is that the space is needed for a rehabilitation centre for birds of prey and considering the size of the gardens. This reason is not acceptable as there is ample room elsewhere in the botanical garden. The birds are also in close proximity to nearby houses.

It is no secret that the botanical garden is in dire need of support and funds, but there are other sources to maintain the wall if the garden is unable to do so. Surely the heritage societies in George could assist - which is unlikely to be a frequent necessity. 

A memorial is de facto our heritage as a reminder of the history of the horrors of war and the loss of millions of young men, many who came from George and descendants who are still local residents of all races.

The premises of the Moths is not on public land and there is no guarantee the club will exist longer than that of the Garden Route Botanical Garden. An argument put forward has been that the public now have to pay an entry fee for the garden. Many botanical gardens, with or without memorials, charge a fee and they are not short of visitors.

It is extremely saddening that respect for the fallen is no more and people fail to understand the purpose and meaning of the Wall of Remembrance. This is now the second attempt to remove the wall from the botanical garden and it is hoped that sense will prevail and the rehabilitation centre will be moved to another section of the garden.

Roger Bath, chairperson of the Garden Route Botanical Garden Trust, responds:
I am glad that Ms Thompson has been able to give us a little more background regarding the wall of remembrance that is the subject of the participation meeting on 10 March 2021.

It is also important that she stressed the need for this memorial to be seen within the community to remind us all of the horrors of war and to honour those that gave their lives fighting for the Peace that we mainly enjoy today. 

I too come from a generation born shortly after the last horrific war of the world and grew up in a community of servicemen who had served in different ways on various fronts. A common denominator in the community was the respect that all paid to their fellow servicemen who had paid the highest price in defending the peace. 

I recall frequent visits to memorials and especially the annual parades that took place in November. I have for many years been distressed that this memorial had been moved from a place of prominence to an obscure area of the botanical garden, tucked into a back corner and facing away from anywhere that passing visitors would see it. 

In all these years I have never seen any sign of remembrance by any groups honouring the service that these men whose names appear on the plaques gave. It was for this reason that I, with the agreement of the trust and some time ago, approached the Moth organisation who I know have regular services honouring those who fell and a garden of remembrance where those services regularly take place.

Ms Thompson is correct that the garden has wanted this memorial moved for a number of years but predominantly for this reason. Having some agreement with the Moth organisation we felt that it would be possible to place the Rehabilitation Centre for Birds of Prey in that area where the memorial had been unnoticed by most for many years.

It was only after the process had begun and we had announced that the Birds of Prey would be moving to the garden that we were informed that this was a national monument and we would need to go through the process of public participation to gain approval for what we were doing.

The memorial has not been removed and can still be viewed by anybody wanting to do so, by arrangement and at no charge. We do believe that in the interests of the community and those who value the sacrifice made by our citizens of George during these wars the memorial would be better placed at the Moth Garden of remembrance and are arranging this public participation meeting to discuss the matter with all who have any interest in the issue. 

I am submitting along with this letter photographs of the three plaques with the names of the servicemen involved and an appeal to the families who may still be in George to give their opinion on the matter. We would urge all those who have a real interest in honouring the lives of the servicemen to attend this meeting and give their views.

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