The Pioneer Valley sugar towns of Finch Hatton and Netherdale joined forces for their WWI memorial - the popular Queensland choice, a soldier or 'Digger' statue. It was erected on 19 November 1921, paid for through public subscription at a cost of £200, and honours the lives of 16 local men who did not return. North Queensland monumental masons Melrose and Fenwick produced the sandstone memorial, the life-sized soldier, head bowed, a tree trunk supporting his feet. Not often seen in other states, Queenslanders liked the Digger statue, seeing it as personifying the enduring qualities of their 'boys': youth, loyalty, innocence, courage and masculinity. It's thought that the Finch Hatton war memorial was never officially unveiled. The names of seven locals who died in WWII have been added.
