Broken Hill Great War Memorial, “The Bomber”

The Broken Hill Great War Memorial, referred to as “The Bomber” is dedicated to those from the district who gave their lives in the First World War. The largest free-standing war memorial action sculpture in Australia, standing at 6.4 metres high, this significant monument stands proud in a very prominent location in Argent Street, Broken Hill.

In 2024 Broken Hill City Council was awarded a Community War Memorials Fund (CWMF) grant to support the conservation of “The Bomber”, which included careful cleaning and heritage maintenance of the memorial.

 

The distinctive war memorial features a bronze statue of an Australian First World War soldier in battle-worn uniform, with puttees torn by barbed wire entanglements, preparing to throw a Mills bomb. “The Bomber” statue stands on a cairn consisting of several rough-cut Harcourt granite blocks which rest on a platform of three steps. Four bronze tablets are attached to the memorial, one on each face of the base, listing the names of 365 men who volunteered from the district and were killed in action.

The Broken Hill War Memorial Committee, established in 1922, successfully raised the impressive sum of £2,370 to erect a monument to honour the fallen from the town. In May 1923 Charles Web Gilbert, renowned Melbourne sculptor, was commissioned to design and model the figure of the soldier for the Broken Hill War Memorial. The bronze figure was cast in a foundry in France and took three months to be shipped to Broken Hill, arriving in March 1925. The memorial was unveiled by Lieutenant General Sir John Monash on 11 October 1925 in front of about 4,000 people where it has since stood as an iconic feature of Broken Hill.

 

By 2024 the memorial had become stained and covered in dirt and bird excrement, mortar was missing from the memorial steps, and the bronze and copper alloy components of the memorial required attention.

Broken Hill City Council recognised the memorial’s need for specialist conservation treatment and applied to the CWMF for a grant to support this work and were successful in receiving a CWMF grant of $10,000 in November 2024 to contribute to the cost of the conservation project. Council had previously commissioned a condition assessment of the monument from Grimwade Conservation Services in 2022. The report outlined restoration and preservation works including surface cleaning to remove dirt particulate and loosen corrosion product, reducing atmospheric corrosion, removing staining on the stonework, repointing missing mortar, and waxing bronze and copper alloy components of the memorial.

In 2025 Council engaged skilled conservators, Harpreet Tanday and Peter Dellas from Delta Conservation, Victoria, to undertake the specialist restoration and conservation works of the memorial. The scope of works included cleaning the monument, salt extraction from the granite plinth, repointing missing mortar, and coating all the metal elements of the memorial with a layer of microcrystalline wax as a preventative measure for protection from further oxidisation and surface staining.

 

 

The conservation team faced the challenging task of identifying and removing layers of previously applied coatings across the memorial prior to commencing cleaning and restoration works. The team worked for two weeks on the memorial, with Delta Conservation’s Technical Director, Harpreet Tanday saying:

"The memorial's advanced corrosion required detailed cleaning and salt extraction to ensure its long-term preservation. Throughout our work, many Broken Hill citizens approached us to ask questions and share their stories—a powerful reminder that we were preserving not just a structure, but a tangible link to the community's deep respect for its veterans."

In addition to the conservation works, the team provided recommendations to Council for future monitoring of the memorial and a maintenance plan identifying tasks and frequency for cleaning.

 

 

The project was completed in May and June 2025. Broken Hill City Council was very pleased with the results, with Mayor Tom Kennedy saying: 

“It was obvious that ‘the bomber’ was in need of some repairs, but I think everyone in the community was amazed by the transformation that took place... It was a huge job, and the work has been deeply appreciated by the people of Broken Hill.

We weren’t initially aware of the amount of work that was needed, which eventually included cleaning, deep stain removal, salt removal, filling and retouching, varnishing, and other general repairs.

Broken Hill is extremely proud of its contribution to Australia’s defence efforts, and I want to commend the NSW Government for helping to fund this important restoration through its Office for Veterans Affairs.”

The conservation works will ensure the longevity of this important monument, providing a significant place of commemoration for the community in Broken Hill.

The Community War Memorials Fund provides grants of up to $15,000 to support the repair, protection and conservation of community war memorials across the state, including specialist heritage advice and physical work.

For more information and to apply, click here.

 

Project photos

All photos courtesy of Delta Conservation.