The Forest Hill community, along with many other cities, towns and settlements in Australia, decided to honour those who had served during World War One, by the erection and dedication of a suitable memorial. The Forest Hill war memorial was erected in 1921 by the Forest Hill Memorial League and was located in a small reserve adjacent to the railway line.
The monument’s masons were P.J. Lowther and Sons of Brisbane, who were also responsible for other memorials in Brisbane (the pedestal for the South African memorial), Blackbutt, Murgon, Goodna, Mount Perry and Tiaro. The actual statue may have been carved by Charles Lowther who was himself an ex-serviceman who had served with the Australian Light Horse during the war. The monument cost approximately £300, which was raised within the local Forest Hill community and was unveiled by five mothers from the town, who had lost sons in the conflict.
This high quality, carved memorial stands at more than four and a half metres in height, consisting of a life-size grey sandstone digger on a tall sandstone pedestal. The statue of the digger faces eastward, in the direction of an adjacent flagstaff. The pedestal rests on a plinth of brown sandstone on a stepped concrete base. The lower portion of the pedestal has leaded marble plaques, with the one for those who had served in World War One, recording, “In Memoriam 1914 – 1918 - For King and Country – Greater Love Hath No Man Than This”. The names of the ninety-seven locals who served in the war are listed. A second plate records the names of those who served in the Second World War. The site itself is located in a small park at the end of Victoria Street with the memorial marked out by small steel fence posts and chains.
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