Freedom Park

Freedom Park is the historical heart of Hervey Bay. The Pialba War Memorial, unveiled in 1921 to commemorate the men from the district who served in World War I, forms the centre of a memorial complex that includes the former Pialba railway station building, Shire Council hall and a dramatic life-size statue of an Australian light horseman from the famous charge at the Battle of Beersheba in 1917. The war memorial at Freedom Park was designed by the Fraser Coast’s most famous architect, P.O.E. Hawkes. Hawkes was responsible for many buildings in Maryborough and throughout the Wide Bay and Burnett districts, including Bundaberg and Kingaroy. At the end of World War I communities around Australia erected memorials to honour the men and women who served and died in the war. Memorials took many forms, including so-called ‘digger’ statues, columns, honour boards, bridges and halls. Architects were often approached to provide designs for memorials. Hawke was responsible for the Pialba and Maryborough war memorials. The Maryborough War Memorial and Gates is in Queen’s Park, Maryborough and it is included in the military trail. The Fraser Coast has a diverse range of memorials, including Queensland’s only memorial bridge, located at Brooweena.