By Mikayla van Loon
After many years of back and forth, Mount Evelyn’s memorial gardens have welcomed the arrival of two new bench seats commemorating the military service of Australian men and women.
Mount Evelyn RSL members Betty Crittenden and Roger Boness have been working tirelessly on the project and have seen their vision come to life with the custom made seats finally installed.
“We thought it would be a good idea to enhance our memorial garden,” Mr Boness said.
“So we came up with a plan and we made an approach to the Shire. There wasn’t a lot of support initially and we kept looking at different ways of where we could actually place the seats. Eventually the Shire started to see the merit in our project.”
Ms Crittenden began working on the beautification of what was originally just a block of land many years ago.
“I wanted this garden to be something for the community. It was a vacant block and years ago, I suggested ‘Why don’t we have a garden for the RSL’,” she said.
“I saw these [seats] and thought that’s just what we need to make it different from a few other little parks around.
“It’s just the conclusion of a project that we started with the garden and I think this puts the finishing touch on it.”
Going from what Mr Boness described as “an unkempt, wind blown park” to the Mount Evelyn Community Memorial Park is something he believes makes the local community proud.
The response from the community, particularly on social media, has suggested just that, with comments streaming in about the appreciation for Ms Crittenden and Mr Boness’ efforts.
“The seats look beautiful, how lucky is Mount Evelyn to have them. Thank you Roger and Betty for your hard work, our town loves this garden,” one commenter said.
“Lost for words at the beauty and poignant message of love and the diligence getting these done has required. Thank you Betty and Roger for your courage to fight,” another person wrote.
“Thank you Betty and Roger for all the work you’ve done over many years towards our beautiful Memorial Garden. These seats are just wonderful,” RSL president Matthew Crymble commented.
As a member of the Mount Evelyn RSL for over 40 years, Ms Crittenden’s impact on the town and the sub-branch itself has been profound.
“To say I am proud of [these seats] is an understatement,” she said.
“It has been my pleasure to be involved with the Mount Evelyn RSL for over 40 years, along with many members past and present. A lot of hard work has enabled us to achieve good vibes with our local community.
“Our aim is to help service people who need it, while always thinking of those who served in many wars to allow us all to enjoy this wonderful country.”
Ms Crittenden said she hopes the bench seats will become a talking point for families and “it gives people an opportunity to tell their children what the garden represents.”
Positioned facing the memorial, Mr Boness said at first he and Ms Crittenden had been working with the council to place them within the boundary of the memorial itself but decided it would all be too cramped.
Instead they now sit as a feature along the path that connects Mount Evelyn main strip of shops to the traffic lights just before the Birmingham Road playground.
“This is where all of the speeches and everything are made on Anzac Day. So it’s all worked out terrifically,” Mr Boness said.
