Monuments
The people of Katanning have achieved much since the town’s inception to see it develop into the welcoming hub of industry and commerce it is today. Over the years residents have achieved remarkable things and buildings have been constructed through the sheer hard work and determination of the local community.
Many of those buildings, and people, have been recognised with a monument or memorial including foundation stones for new buildings. This is but a few of them…
1903 75mm German made field gun
According to the Australian War Museum, this 1903 model 75mm German made field gun was used by the Turkish Army during the First World War.
It saw service in Germany and the Middle East including the Ottoman Empire and Palestine. This gun was made by Krupp and is one of 558 made to Turkish specifications. The gun is a box trail, horse drawn piece made from ordnance steel and features a horizontal sliding breech block. There is a gun shield attached for crew protection. The wheels have wooden spokes and feature steel wheel rims. The gun is painted in matt green. Markings – FRIEDRICH KRUPP; AG ESSEN; Turkish cyphers on breech block. All markings are matching.
The field gun on display in Katanning was captured by Australian Light Horse in Palestine. Following World War I, weapons captured from German, Austria/Hungary and Turkish forces were distributed amongst the allied nations as reminders of the bravery and sacrifice of the soldiers involved.
In Australia committees were set up in each state to manage the distribution. Some were retained for what would become the Australian War Memorial, others distributed to Army units to which the guns capture was linked and others to communities and schools.
The type and size of the weapon allotted depended on the size of the town and conditions for allocation varied between States. Generally, the community accepted responsibility to display the trophy, pay the cost of its transportation, arrange a ceremony to unveil the trophy and accept responsibility for its maintenance.
The gun situated at Katanning’s ANZAC memorial was allocated to the town during the 1920s by the new Australian War Memorial.
Accession Number RELAWM05011.001
Church Plaques & Foundation Stones
Pioneer & Memorial Wall
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Monuments