War memorial at Belmont Shooting Complex consecrated on Remembrance Day

The memorial includes the Armistice Centenary Memorial Gate at the complex’s Old Cleveland Road entrance and a contemplative garden featuring a memorial stone, 11 plinths and a flagpole.

The plinths are a reminder that it was on the 11^th hour of the 11^th day of the 11^th month in 1918 that the guns on the Western Front fell silent after more than four years of warfare.

The memorial was opened by Bonner MP Ross Vasta and consecrated by Chaplain Lieutenant Colonel (retired) Graeme Ramsden on Sunday, the 100^th anniversary of the signing of the Armistice ending World War I.

The plaque on the central memorial stone acknowledges men and women of all shooting disciplines who served in wars and campaigns since the Boer War, including peacekeeping operations post-1946.

The memorial was built by the Queensland Rifle Association, with money from the Veteran Affairs Department, Belmont Shooting Complex Site Users’ Association and Queensland Rifle Association Museum management.

Memorial build project team chairman John Johnstone said the Armistice Centenary Memorial Gate would serve as a permanent reminder to all who entered Belmont Shooting Complex that Australia’s sporting men and women in the target shooting sports had and would continue to serve the nation in Australia’s armed forces.

“The project has involved volunteers from the shooting clubs and was made possible by the generous support of local firms,” Mr Johnstone said.

“I would like to say a special thanks to all those people who made this project a reality.

“We could not have done it without them.

“Now Brisbane has a new war memorial that will become the focus of Anzac Day and Remembrance Day observances for residents living near the Belmont Shooting Complex, as well as members of clubs in the complex.”