NORTH SYDNEY ANZAC MEMORIAL CLUB THE BEGINNING /1774- (T,Y AIM"r

(As recorded by the Hon. Sir John Cramer, Patron)

Notwithstanding the other activities, the outstanding achievement whilst I was Mayor, was the construction of the Anzac Memorial Hall opposite the Cammeray Golf Course at North Sydney. I found a pile of files two feet high in the records of the Council, dealing with this matter. It appeared that after the First World War, a movement commenced at North Sydney to build a Hall to commemorate Anzac. A large amount of money was raised and a Trust established, the leading figure was the then State Member for North Sydney, Dugald Thompson. Other important Trustees of the Fund were Tom V. Roberts and Dr. Sam J. Moreau. When Dugald Thompson passed away, there were great disagreements in the Committee and Trustees and the general body of Ex-Servicemen. Although a site for the Hall had been selected in Carlow Street, North Sydney, the objective never came to fruition and the Hall was never built. Although there was great public disappointment, and legal action was threatened on a number of occasions, the disputes could never be settled, and in the end, the money raised was invested in Commonwealth Bonds, and deposited by the surviving Trustees in the Safe Deposit Vaults in the Commonwealth Bank in Martin Place, Sydney. Unfortunately, these remaining Trustees, Tom Roberts and Dr. Moreau had bitter differences and were not on speaking terms. The files show that on a number of occasions, representations had been made to the Council through the then Mayor to try to resolve the dispute, but despite this effort, no conclusion was reached. Before I became Mayor, I had heard of the problems and the unsuccessful efforts made to find a solution. In the course of my Aldermanic duties, I had attended many functions at the different ex-servicemens organisations in the Municipality. In North Sydney, there were three organisations I knew of, one at Kirribilli, a second at the Union Club at the corner of Berry and Miller Streets, North Sydney, and a third in Willoughby Road, Crows Nest, called the Services Club, towards the end, The Anzac Club. There were a lot of fine fellows in each of these Clubs. They were anxious to get unity amongst all the ex-servicemen, but somehow, old scores which existed could not be healed (although all were members of the R.S.L. Central Control body), and objected to any control being exercised over the conditions or running of the individual Clubs whilst they wished to link up with the Central body. I had hardly sat down in the Mayoral chair when representations were made to me to try to rectify the big problem of getting an Anzac Hall. All sections approached me, but the most persistent were from the Crows Nest Club, where I operated my Real Estate business nearby. Hardly a day passed without the President of the Club, Frank Cook, or the Secretary, Charles Ebbrell, coming to see me, I knew them both previously. Frank worked for Clarke and Walker, a hardware store with which my firm dealt, and Charles was a one-armed ex-serviceman who worked for the Tramway Department in Ernest Street. They drummed into me the past history, and I stated that I appreciated the difficulties of the task. They pointed out to me that someone in authority had to face up to these difficulties and overcome them. I told them finally that I would only take it on if we get all sections of the ex-servicemens organisations concerned into line. They suggested that the way to do this was to have a dinner at the Crows Nest Hotel, at which I, as Mayor, would be Guest of honour, and at which both Tom Roberts and Dr. Moreau would be present and would appeal to me to take steps to have the Memorial Hall built. This dinner took place on the 24th January, 1940, and was well organised, and all sections of ex-servicemens Clubs at North Sydney were present. It was a great credit to Frank Cook and Charles Ebbrell, and their team of committeemen from the Crows Nest Club. The atmosphere created was good, and a friendly spirit pervaded the dinner. After the usual toasts, and an explanation of the purpose of the function was given, Tom Roberts was asked to speak. He was a very excitable and highly strung man, and had suffered the tragedy of his son being killed in the War. He made a splendid speech, highly emotional, patriotic and very effective on his audience. I must admit, it affected me deeply, and when he finally came over to me, put his hand firmly on my shoulder and said "Mr Mayor, I charge you with the responsibility to see that an Anzac Memorial Hall is built at North Sydney", I felt that this was a sacred trust bestowed upon me. He continued, and promised to do all in his power to help, and the following is an authentic signed copy of the record of the Inaugural Dinner and a resolution passed at same:- "At the Annual Committee Dinner of the North Sydney Anzac Memorial Club at Crows Nest Hotel on the 24th January, 1940, the following guests being present; Mr. Tom Roberts, Alderman J.O. Cramer (Mayor of North Sydney), Alderman Delandro, Alderman K. Bolton, Mr. C. Ebbrell (President of the Tramway Returned Soldiers Sub-Branch), Mr. F. Cook (President of the Anzac Memorial Club), Pay Lieut. Commander E.J. Owen, R.N.R. (President of North Sydney Returned Soldiers Sub- Branch), Mr. C. Clarke (Secretary North Sydney Soldiers Sub-Branch). In the course of the after dinner speeches, mention was made of the North Sydney Memorial Hall fund. At this juncture, Mr. Tom Roberts, who was one surviving Trustee of the North Sydney Anzac Memorial Hall Fund, stated that it was his earnest wish that a committee be formed tonight to administer the fund and turning to the Mayor said he was impressed by his earnestness in connection with the welfare of the returned men and he could not think of a more suitable gentlemen than the Mayor to guide the destinies of such a Committee. Under the stress of some emotion, Mr. Roberts referred to the late Mr. Harry Green, ex Mayor of North Sydney, who was a co-trustee of this fund when it was inaugurated. Mr. Roberts went on to say that our present Mayor would be a worthy successor to the late Mr. Harry Green. Mr. Roberts further stated that he wanted his wish translated into bricks and mortar, and that in the immediate future, he earnestly felt that the month of February would see us on the way to obtaining this object. He further asked that the Committee be formed there and then. After many suggestions, it was unanimously resolved that the following form the required Committee:- Patron Mr. Tom Roberts Chairman Ald. J.O. Cramer (Mayor of North Sydney) Vice-Chairman Ald. Frank Delandro Committee Mr. F. Cook (President North Sydney Anzac Memorial Club) Pay Lieut. Comdr. E.J. Owen R.N.R. (President North Sydney Soldiers Sub-Branch) Mr. C. Ebbrell (President Tramways Returned Soldiers Sub-Branch) Hon. Secretary Mr. P. Hughes

Mr. Roberts indicated his approval of the personnel of the Committee, and stated he would willingly co-operate and attend any Meetings called. He appealed to the Mayor, Alderman Cramer, to call a meeting of the Committee at an early date and that he would pay the monies, of which he was a Trustee, to the Committee charged with the responsibilities of carrying out the purpose for which the monies were subscribed. He then suggested that the Committee should direct the amalgamation of all the Anzac Memorial Hall funds in North Sydney.

Signed: Thomas Roberts, Patron J.O. Cramer , Chairman Frank Delandro, E.J. Owen, F.W. Cook Chas.I. Ebbrell. I felt very moved by this, and accepted the challenge it presented. I knew it was only a start, and in light of the problems unresolved, there was much work to be done. I realised I had to carefully prepare the way I handled the matter, and this became more and more apparent when I read the details contained in the files of the actions previously taken, which had always fallen down because they were too arbitrary and did not appreciate the different kind of personalities involved. To start the ball rolling, I got the full Council to agree to a request by the Crows Nest Club to address the Council in session. The deputation, led by Frank Cook, the President, and Charles Ebbrell and other members of the Committee, had appointed Vic Dugan as their spokesman. He was previously Secretary of the Club, he put the case well, so that all the Aldermen of the Council understood what was going on and what was required of the Council. I fully appreciated that the position was always very sensitive and needed very discreet handling if it were to succeed, notwithstanding the promises made at the Dinner. The plain fact was that the Memorial Hall could never get off the ground until we had possession of the substantial sum of money held in trust by Tom Roberts and Dr. Moreau. I sought and had long talks with them both privately and seperately. They still had some sort of antipathy for each other. Tom was very difficult and was determined he would not let the money go until it was decided to run everything his way. Dr. Moreau was much more understanding and reasonable to deal with. In the course of discussions, they each seperately agreed to certain basic principles such as the kind of building and accommodation for both the Club and the League, and so on. I wanted to be sure they would hand over the money they held in trust, so I suggested to each seperately that their plans be submitted to a public elected committee to be responsible for the building of the Hall. It took some time to convince Tom Roberts to accept the procedure. I think he wanted to direct and dictate all proceedings himself. I had to get his complete confidence some way. He lived at Woodford, in the Blue Mountains, and his hobby was a memorial garden of flowers and pot plants in memory of his son. In order to get close contact with him, Mary (my wife), and I, went up to see him on many occasions on weekends, and I searched Sydney to find some unusual and exotic plants for his garden. Although Tom was always difficult; really deep down, he was a man with a big heart. Dr. Moreau was quite happy about the publicly elected Committee. Both Tom Roberts and Dr. Moreau's ideas were identical, although I had to keep them strictly to myself, so a public meeting was held and a very large attendance of ex-servicemen and members of the public were present. At this meeting, the North Sydney Anzac Memorial Hall Committee was elected. This Committee, it must be remembered, was authorised to be established by the Council itself, although it was a seperate body elected to do a specific job of work. I was elected President, not because I was Mayor. My late good friend, Frank Delandro, who was an Alderman, was elected Vice-President, Tom Roberts was given the honour of being the Patron, Frank Cook was a Member, and Charles Ebbrell was elected Secretary/Treasurer to the Committee. Dr. Moreau was elected to the Committee. Others were as follows:- Ald. J.S. Stanton, who had been the Mayor immediately preceeding myself, Rupert Minnett, Hon. Architect and his partner C. Cullis-Hill, Ald. Ken McLeod Bolton, who was the State President of the R.S.L. Central Control Body. Mr. W. Irvine, who had been a Member of the original Committee which was established after the First World War to build the Hall, Messrs. E.R. McMahon, Tom Beer, Hilton Jones, Ald. T.J. Ward and Cmdr. E.J. Owen. It was agreed at this public meeting, that the bonds in which the trust money was invested, and held in trust by Tom Roberts and Dr. Moreau, would be handed over to the North Sydney Council, to be held by it, on behalf of the Committee, and to be spent on the construction of the Hall. - 4 -

It was anxious time for me until both the Trustees had signed the necessary documents to enable the bonds to be collected. However, both kept their word given to the Public Meeting and signed the documents. The getting of that money is firmly impressed on my memory. I can see it all clearly even now. Les J. Brainwood (affectionately known to us all as ''Slogger"), was the Deputy Town Clerk of the North Sydney Council. He carried an old battered briefcase, and we both went across to the Commonwealth Bank in Martin Place armed with our authorities, and the bonds were handed over to us. I felt like a security guard sitting up beside Les on the tram with the bonds, and they were then deposited in the vaults of the North Sydney Council, where they stayed until they had to be released in connection with the construction of the Hall. Whilst I was delighted with the progress so far, there were still many hurdles to get over. The Municipal Council as such, had not yet committed itself to the building of the Hall. It's design, location and financing all had to be dealt with and resolved. It must be remembered, that costs of construction since the Fund was established after the First World War (1918-1920), had greatly increased, and the amount then would not be sufficient, or nearly sufficient, to build the kind of hall now proposed. I think one of the most wonderful things about the building of the Hall, is the offer of Rupert Minnett and his partner Cullis-Hill, to act as Honorary Architects without professional payment of any kind. This was a big job, and a magnificent contribution by two splendid men. I was, at this time, President of the Rotary Club of North Sydney, and both Rupert Minnett and Cullis-Hill were Rotarians. As a matter of fact, the Rotary of North Sydney were a tremendous help to me and the Committee charged with the building of the Hall. Frank Delandro, Vice-President, was a Rotarian, a past President and later a Governor of the District. To complete the picture of the close association of the Rotary Club with the Anzac Hall, is so turned out that when the tender was accepted for its construction, the successful tenderer was Dave Girvan, another member of Rotary, who did much more than his contract provided. The first obvious and most important thing to decide, was a site upon which the Hall could be built. The building committee searched all over North Sydney for the most suitable position, and one day going through a list of properties controlled by the North Sydney Council, I came across an area opposite the Cammeray Golf Course which had been resumed many years before by the Council, for the deposit of poles used in the area for electricity reticulation and for the Tramway Depot, and for other authorities connected with the deposit of poles in North Sydney. It appeared after I made enquiries from the Council Officers, that this land was now quite surplus to the requirements of the Council. The Committee went closely into it's suitability for such an important Hall and Club premises, and finally decided it would be (if Council agreed) the obvious position to build, and so, as Mayor, I put the proposition to Council, who agreed, subject to final approval, to the kind of building proposed to build upon it. This decision was rather a tricky legal problem, because the title deeds were entailed with an exclusive use for the deposit of poles when it was resumed. It meant further, that it could not be subdivided and sold commercially, so my legal advice was that there was little or no risk of having the Hall built upon this land. Then came the decision and preparation of the plans of the building to be built. Many long discussions by the Committee were held, and many arguments took place, because for some strange reason, there was a considerable variety of opinion as to'how the accommodation for the League would be seperated from the development of the Club. However, with the great help of Rupert Minnett and Cullis-Hill, a decision was finally made, and plans were submitted to Council for it's consideration. Herein again, long discussions took place, but final approval was given, subject to the Law as it then stood. - 5 -

The Second World War was at it's height, and the Federal Government had brought in a War Precautions Bill, which prohibited the construction of any buildings of this nature without the approval of the Cabinet of the Federal Government. The plans were submitted for the Federal Government's approval, and notwithstanding our appeal that the building was closely associated with the War Effort, the Federal Government rejected the plans and ordered that the building was not to proceed. This was a tremendous shock to me and the Committee, and certainly caused a lot of sleepless nights. We then consulted with the Federal Member for North Sydney, Billy Hughes, and the Member for Warringah, Percy Spender, who were both Members of the first Menzies Ministry, which was then in control. They promised to put the matter to the Prime Minister, and Percy Spender suggested that I might feel disposed, and it might help if I, as Mayor and President of the Committee, would go to Canberra and meet the Prime Minister and Arthur Fadden, who was the Federal Treasurer and Minister responsible, and explain the position to them. This I did, and with the great help of Arthur Fadden, Billy Hughes and Percy Spender, the Prime Minister agreed to reverse Cabinet's decision and gave us approval to build the Hall. When the plans were ready and the site decided upon, tenders were called for the construction of the Hall. Seven tenders were received, all between 10,500 and 11,000 pounds. One tender was from a prominent Club Member, Tom Beer, who was a building contractor. After a close scrutiny by the Committee, and consulting with Rupert Minnett and Cullis-Hill, and also with Tom Beer, it was decided to accept the tender of Girvan Bros., of St. Leonards for 10,597 p ounds, and the Hall to be completed in thirty weeks. With other ancillary costs in building the Hall, the total was just on 14,000 pounds. The official instruction to proceed with construction of the Hall of course had to be given by the North Sydney Council. The Council had to be sure of the finance, and also had to have an agreement with the Trustees of the North Sydney Anzac Memorial Club, to whom the Building Committee would hand over on completion of the building. This required very close examination, and long conferences took place. The Council was then asked to have great faith in the ability of the Committee to conduct a Club worthy of the objective of a memorial to Anzac, and at the same time, to meet the liability Council was incurring to establish the Hall. It was at this Lime certain rumblings became evident, particularly by one or two Aldermen, and a few criticisms appeared in the local press that I was bulldozing the matter through Council, and that it might cost the rate payers a lot of money if the Club was not properly conducted. A ridiculous argument was used that whilst the Council would be able to rely upon "The Old Diggers", when the Second World War ended the young "Soldiers" might have different ideas about the Club. In my long experience in public life, I have found that certain elements of jealousy at the activities of others who are also engaged in public affairs are inevitable, and sometimes little subtle and mean things are done, calculated to discredit what may be considered to be an opponent or to try and gain credit for themselves. The construction of the North Sydney Anzac Memorial Hall was of considerable interest to the public, especially because of the long history of the futile efforts to get it built, so that when it appeared that at last the difficulties were being overcome, there were a few who tried to "throw a few spanners into the works", and a few who wanted to "jump on the band wagon" and get some credit for themselves. One of the most severe critics was an Alderman who unmercifully criticised me as an arrogant, self seeking Mayor circing the Council into a project which, in the long run, could be a liability on the ratepayer. There were others of course who criticised my activities, some no doubt justified, but with more ulterior motives. North Sydney had a record of every now and then, changing its allegiance, and just about this period, the ex-Mayor, H.L. Primrose, had lost his State seat to Jim Geraghty, a representative of the Labor Party. I always held the view that party politics should be kept out of Local Government, and I can honestly say that although I was a member of the Executive of the United Australia Party, I never used this fact as Mayor in Local Government, or in my activities in connection with the Anzac Memorial Hall. Jim Geraghty, although of a different political persuasion, always posed as a personal friend of mine, but when he was tested at a later date, I suffered a sad disillusionment as to what friendship meant. First, however, let us proceed with the history of the Anzac Memorial Hall. When the final resolution to accept the responsibility to build and pay for the Hall was being discussed by Council, it was a warm feeling to hear the unanimous expressions of every Alderman, that they had complete trust in the "Old Diggers", and also in the Second World War Soldiers when they returned later and took over. The resolution was passed, subject to finance being obtained. There were only two aldermen who asked that their names be recorded against the resolution, because of their view as to the legality of same. The financing for the construction of the Hall was on the basis of approximately 3,000 pounds from the old Trust Fund, the amount raised by public subscription 6,000 pounds, and by Council borrowing on a twenty year term the sum of 5,000 pounds, making a total of 14,000 pounds. The agreement with the Trustees of the Club, among other detailed matters, provided that the Club be fully responsible as occupant or lessees for the repayment of loan monies, and for the conduct of the Club at all times to be of a high standard of public acceptance. The title to the land upon which the Hall would be built would remain with the Council, which would have the right to cancel the lease if the provisions were not strictly adhered to. The Club agreed to seperate accommodation for the League. At this time, the Club Membership was 1,200, and the Annual Fee for membership .was 25 shillings, ten shillings of which was for League Membership, and five shillings for the Club Mortality Insurance. League membership was 1,800. The availability of Loan Money was enquired into, and it appeared that the A.M.P. Society was the only prospect. Loan Money was really hard to get, but formal application was made by Council to borrow 5,000 pounds from the A.M.P. Society, but all our expectations ap p eared to be in jeopardy when we received a letter rejecting our application. We were stunned. I immediately sought an interview with the Board of the A.M.P. Society. When I explained the long history and the purpose of the Club, and the public interest in same, the Board finally agreed to make the loan available. At last the deck was cleared to build the Hall. The agreement for the occupation was signed by the Trustees of the North Sydney Anzac Memorial Club and Frank Cook, Charles Ebbrell and Jack Gow, and I signed on behalf of the North Sydney Council. There was great joy and happiness, when after twenty years of effort, the Hall was going to be built. Celebrations took place on the 22nd November, 1941, when the foundation stones were laid, one on each side of the Main Entrance. The first stone was laid by Major-General Fewtrell, C.B., D.S.O., V.D., and the inscription on the stone was "This stone was set by a soldier". The second stone was laid by me, and the inscription on this stone was "This stone was set by a citizen". Our enlarged photographs were placed inside the building in the vestibule on the side of the wall where we respectively laid the foundation stones. The crowd was one of the largest seen at North Sydney, and about 1,500 members of the Defence Forces and Auxiliary Services turned out, and there were three Bands to keep the spirit of the celebrations going. It was a very happy occasion. When all the excitement died down,and the building was not quite complete, the snide attacks upon me became more pronounced and some vicious articles appeared in the local press and in pamphlets issued. - 7 -

Again it was said that I had used Council for my own glorification, and given away Council property and committed it to future liability. The propaganda had its effect, so that when the Council elections took place in December, 1941, both Frank Delandro and I were defeated. In those days, voting was not compulsary, and I suppose we took the election too casually, and did not bring the electors to the polling booths. We were staggered by the stream of cars which brought voters on a shuttle service to the booths from a local hotel. I ceased to be an Alderman and the Mayor, but I was still President of the North Sydney Anzac Memorial Hall Committee in charge of the construction of the building. On the 5th September, 1942, the completed Hall was finally opened by the new Mayor, Alderman G.A. Fowle. Invitations had been sent out jointly by the Mayor and the Aldermen of North Sydney Council, and the President and members of the Building Committee. I was given the privilege of being the Chairman, and gave a resume of the history of the Club, and called upon the Mayor to declare it officially open. The Hall was filled to capacity, and loud speakers relayed the official opening to many hundreds of people outside. After the speeches, I made an appeal for donations and the sale of "bricks" which had been a feature of our money raising efforts. Many thousands of "brick" certificates had been sold, and the names of the donors listed on a large board erected in the Hall. To stimulate the appeal, I had arranged for the Hon. Greg McGirr, who had been a Minister in the Lang Government as "Minister for Motherhood" (a unique title), to give a donation of 200 pounds. Mr. McGirr lived in Ernest Street nearby, and at that time, this was a very generous donation. When I announced this, Billy Hughes, who was present at the function, pulled my coat tails and said he would give a similar donation. He was as deaf as a beetle, and I am sure that, in fairness, he had not heard the size of the amount given. In any case, he failed to send the donation in, even though at the time, he got a great ovation. A considerable amount was raised, and the function was a great success. The First World War Diggers controlled the Club for several years, and set a very high standard, and then the Second World War Soldiers took over, and it's conduct and control has been everything that one could have wished for, contrary to the propaganda before the Hall was built. It has never cost the ratepayer one penny, and has been a wonderful acquisition to the citizens of North Sydney. I am glad that the Club has honoured me by electing me as it's Patron. Now that I have completed the record of events leading up to the completion of the North Sydney Anzac Memorial Hall, I feel it fails to give proper recognition and thanks to the many hundreds of people who so unselfishly gave their time and enthusiastic energy to the project. It would be impossible to start mentioning names, but we should all remember those of the early period after 1918 who conceived the idea and raised the first fund which formed the basis of the Memorial. Almost all of these people have now passed on. Then we should remember the Womens Auxiliary and the number of other women who held parties and functions to raise money. It was amazing to me to see small groups, not only in North Sydney, but in adjoining areas, getting together to raise the money to help get the 6,000 pounds the Club would be asked to contribute. The largest project was the Queen Competition which raised a substantial sum. This was won by Charles Ebbrell's daughter, Mona, and it brought a lot of enthusiastic people together, all working for the one objective. North Sydney was, I believe, the first in Australia to form a Volunteer Defence Corps for those too old or in a reserved occupation, but who wanted to do their bit for the local war effort. I had called a public meeting to form this group before the Government had acted to set it up. Col. Travers, General Manager of the Daily Telegraph, took command and was a great help. - 8 -

In addition to the raising of money for the Club to meet its commitment, it had to organise to take over when the Hall was completed. There were so many ex-servicemen and indeed associates of the Club who were not ex-servicemen who worked very hard and enthusiastically and who should not be forgotten by the Club. A lot of these I know, have already passed away, but a few are still with us, and should be consulted to complete the record. I believe the North Sydney Anzac Memorial Club is one of the most important Clubs in Australia to give recognition to ex-servicemen who fought to maintain our freedom and identity as a young Nation. It bears the sacred name of Anzac, and the public street it faces has also been given the privilege of using the name "Anzac". When the present controllers of the Club decide to record its history, I hope due recognition is given to the Members, Committees and Directors who so successfully established it in the early days. Its conduct and public acceptance is a credit to all those who have managed its affairs - right from the beginning to the present. Finally, I believe its history should be placed on permanent record for the benefit of posterity.

Hon. Sir John Cramer 2nd August, 1984