Restoration now on track for Anzac Day

WORKERS have removed paving from Bunbury War Memorial ahead of restoration work beginning next month.

The excavations are the first significant work to be done at the memorial as part of the restoration Bunbury Mayor Gary Brennan has promised will be finished in time for Anzac Day this April.

This week the memorial was taped off as bricks were removed to make way for new paving.

Mr Brennan said the new paving would match the surrounding footpath with a different colour to indicate where a reflection pond once was. The paving is expected to take two weeks and was approved by the State Heritage Office.

Mr Brennan said maintenance to the landscaping around the cenotaph would also be completed in time for Anzac Day.

Restoration work on the cenotaph is expected to start next month and last six weeks.

Bunbury RSL Branch president John Gelmi said he had made two sets of plans for the Anzac Day centenary Dawn Service.

He said a contingency plan had been created in case work on the cenotaph was not finished in time.

In January the council approved spending an extra $20,000 for the $45,000 restoration, which will include fixing the hat and nose of the Unknown Soldier atop the cenotaph. The extra money is to prevent the restoration taking longer if more damage is discovered once paint is removed.