The Invercargill City Council has secured $680,000 from the Provincial Growth Fund for the restoration of seven southern war memorials.

The council applied for the funding when PGF offered the one-time initiative to help repair community memorials and town halls.

Invercargill City Council parks asset planner Matthew Nind said many people may pass by small memorials without realising their importance, while other memorials were large and associated with ANZAC day.

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“All are equally important and represent all of our communities," he said.

“Work will focus on repairs of these memorials, removal of invasive vegetation, and beautification to reinstate them as centrepieces of the community,” Mr Nind said.

New Zealand sent a tenth of its population to the World Wars resulting in 29,928 fatalities from both conflicts.

Communities developed local memorials not only to honour those who fought and died but as a place for people to connect with and to enable communities to grieve.

The first two memorials to be restored will be the Troopers’ Memorial on the Tay and Dee Street roundabout, which was built in 1908 to commemorate the Boer War, and the Waikiwi Domain War Memorial, which was built around 1959.

Work is expected to begin on Troopers’ Memorial in late October.

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Interim Parks and Recreation Manager Michele Frey said she was delighted to have been successful in the application for funding.

“Our staff are extremely passionate about these important memorials, and their special place in our community. We’re very excited to be able to take the next steps in making sure they receive the best treatment possible.”

The memorials selected, which work is funded for are:

• Kennington War Memorial Gates
• Myross Bush Community War Memorial
• Rugby Park Footballers Memorial
• South Invercargill War Memorial
• Southland Cenotaph
• Troopers’ Memorial
• Waikiwi Domain War Memorial