Mellor Park Reserve

In addition to being a great recreation space for our community, Mellor Park is also home to the Lockleys and District War Memorial space.

In 2023, council created this memorial within Mellor Park as a place of commemoration and reflection in a natural setting.

This parcel of land has been the site of a war memorial since 1925 when the Lockleys Soldiers’ Memorial Hall was opened. The hall was established to create an opportunity to commemorate and remember the men and women of Lockleys and the surrounding suburbs who enlisted in the First World War. The hall featured a silence room to honour those who had paid the supreme sacrifice in the war. It also provided a recreational facility for the people of Lockleys and the local district. The main room could accommodate nearly 500 people and was used for dances and community events. There was also a library to promote and encourage literature, science and art.

The foundation stone for the Lockleys Soldiers’ Memorial Hall was laid by Colonel James Rowell, a veteran of the Boer War and the First World War. The foundation stone is preserved in the red brick wall at the car park entrance. The local Rowell family had 13 members who served in Australia’s military forces during the Boer War, the First World War and the Second World War. More details about the Rowell family can be found on a sign on the other side of this Memorial.

In 1935, the hall became home to the Lockleys RSL Sub Branch. After the end of the Second World War in 1945, the Lockleys RSL Sub Branch offered commemoration and support to another generation of veterans.

Significant renovations to the hall in the 1950s saw the building re-purposed as a cinema. The RSL Sub Branch moved to a new building behind the Memorial Hall.

With the passing of those who served in the Second World War, the Lockleys RSL Sub Branch ceased operation in 2018.

The Lockleys Servicemen's’ Memorial Centre developed an online tribute which now commemorates the more than 2,500 men and women from Lockleys and the surrounding suburbs, who answered the country’s call during wartime.