Otago Boys High Sth African War memorial

Otago Boys' High School South African War memorial tablet.

At the entrance to Otago Boys’ High School there are two ornate marble memorial tablets commemorating the death of the school’s old boys in the South African war. They are separated by a glassed-in enclave showcasing two crossed flags. One tablet is dedicated to Captain J.A. Harvey. The other lists the NCOs and troopers lost: Quarter Master John I. Moeller (aged 23), Sergeant Alex M. Reid (40), Sgt Will A. Moffett (32), Sgt Francis A. Baron (24), Trooper Edwin H. Palmer (23) and Trooper J. Pat Heenan (28).

Captain Harvey, of No. 10 Company, 4th Contingent, was killed leading his men against a Boer position on Lemmers Hill at Ottoshoop on 16 August 1900.

The marble tablets were paid for by funds raised by schoolchildren from the sale of pence-cards. Every school in the province then received a tablet from the Fallen Soldiers’ Memorial Committee.

Further information

• Chris Maclean and Jock Phillips, The Sorrow and the Pride: New Zealand War Memorials, GP Books, Wellington, 1990