Major-General Sir Edward Chaytor unveiled the Te Aroha First World War memorial on 15 September 1923. This was situated at the intersection of Church and Kenrick Streets. The bronze statue by Italian artist Giobanni depicted a soldier in full kit with rifle with fixed bayonet in hand (some photographs show the statue without the bayonet, since this needs to be replaced from time to time). The statue was mounted on a colonnaded granite plinth inscribed with the names of 100 men from the district who had given their lives.
A garden was developed to link this memorial with Te Aroha's Second World War memorial. On Anzac Day 1963 a soldiers’ memorial fountain was also unveiled (since removed).
Sources: ‘Te Aroha Memorial: The Unveiling Ceremony’, NZ Herald, 10/9/1923, p. 8; ‘War Memorials Unveiled’, NZ Herald, 17/9/1923, p. 6; ‘Vandals’ Work’, Auckland Star, 29/12/1939, p. 6; ‘Anzac Memorial Service: Te Aroha Pays Tribute’, Te Aroha News, 27/4/1955, p. 5; ‘Fountain Ready by Anzac Day’, NZ Herald, 8/4/1963; C. Kingsley-Smith, This is Te Aroha, 1981, p. 77; Jock Phillips and Chris Maclean, The Sorrow and the Pride, Wellington, 1990, pp. 72-3, 99. 126. 128.
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