100 Years of Yankalilla Memorial Sporting Grounds
Peter Filsell

President of the Yankalilla Memorial Park Committee Peter Filsell described the history of the Park from the first meeting of the Committee in May 1924, which passed a motion that ‘an effort be made to purchase the Forbes property, for Memorial Recreation grounds.’ This was an area of 31.6 hectares (76 acres). The Soldiers' Memorial Park (as it was originally known) was opened on February 1st, 1926, by the Hon. G. R. Laffer, M.P. for Alexandra, with a grand parade and sporting competitions.

The original Memorial Arch was erected in 1927 at a cost of £153. The archway was officially opened on Anzac Day 1927 and is featured on the Park’s monogrammed crockery. The archway gave way to the War Memorial Gardens in 1968 on the little block of land between the Post Office and the Yankalilla Takeaway and it was moved to its current location on Memorial Park land some 20 years later. The new entrance archway was dedicated on Anzac Day, 2013, ensuring that remembrance remains at the heart of the space.

Yankalilla Memorial Park is now a major community precinct in the region, home to six sporting clubs and with a range of facilities used by others sports and events.