By Margaret Maccoll
Park benches such as the one at Peregian Beach (entry 51) or any park furniture as well as memorial trees or gardens will no longer be considered by Noosa Council as suitable forms of memorial under its new Plaques and Memorials Policy.
The commemoration of people, community groups or events with a pubic plaque or memorial on Council-owned land will now be assessed through an application process and fee ($1413.50 for a standard memorial) under its new policy.
The policy, discussed in Council last week, restricts applications for plaques and monuments to only those individuals, families or groups who have made a substantial contribution to the community, have enduring links to the shire or to mark a significant event.
The policy does not apply to war memorials owned and maintained by the RSL including the monuments at Tewantin and Cooroy but it does include the war memorial on the rotunda on council land in Pomona.
Council officers said if any changes were proposed for the Pomona monument Council would first bring in a heritage consultant and consult with the community.
Cr Frank Wilkie said the policy was also not intended to manage informal roadside memorials placed at the site of a fatal accident.
A Council officer at last week’s Services and Organization Committee Meeting said the preferred form of memorialising was through a place naming (e.g. road, bridge, or park) where it becomes part of people’s daily lives and builds on the story of Noosa over time.
However, there are circumstances where this may not be practicable or a plaque or memorial would be more appropriate, according to the policy.
Council officers said the purpose of developing and adopting a policy was to provide a Council-endorsed framework for Noosa Council to assess requests for new plaques and memorials, guide installation of approved plaques and memorials and manage existing and new plaques and memorials in public spaces in Noosa Shire.
They said the decision was made to put a policy in place before a defacto memorial area was established as had occurred in other council shires.
Cr Frank Wilkie said the policy would handle the sorts of requests Council received frequently when a loved one wants to remember someone.
He said a requirement to delay the consideration of commemorating a deceased person for 12 months after their death gave everyone time to reflect on what would be most appropriate.
The new policy does not include plaques or monuments to people living but Councillors raised the issue of honouring living residents for their contribution to the Shire which officers said they would investigate. The final decision on the Plaques and Memorial Policy was to be ratified at Thursday’s Ordinary Meeting.
