The ‘Broken Blade’, located in front of the Bathurst Memorial Entertainment Centre, was knocked over about 1.20am on Saturday.

The pink granite memorial was smashed into five major pieces and many smaller ones, and according to secretary of Bathurst RSL Sub-Branch, Jim McFerran, is beyond repair.

Mr McFerran said he was “extremely disappointed” at the destruction and he has informed the State branch of the RSL via email together with photographs.

Inspector Lance McFawn from Bathurst Police said a 20-year-old man will front Bathurst Local Court on Monday, June 16 to answer the charge of “damaging a protected place”.

This includes war memorials.

Police allege the man was walking along William Street early on Saturday morning when he allegedly jumped up and swung on the Eighth Division Memorial.

The two metre (seven foot) Broken Blade was allegedly pulled from its anchor pins causing it to smash into pieces on the ground.

A passing police car was flagged down by witnesses and the man was detained by police.

The Broken Blade memorial to the Eighth Division was unveiled in August 15, 1970 and erected in front of the war memorial Bathurst City Hall in William Street.

When the hall was transformed into Bathurst Memorial Entertainment Centre in the 1990s, the Broken Blade was placed in an alcove in front of the building.

The Broken Blade memorial was made from a block of pink Tarana granite by Loveridge and Hudson of Lewisham and designed by Director of Teacher Education at Mitchell College of Advanced Edu-cation (today Charles Sturt University) Dr John Flak.

Its unveiling was performed by the senior surviving officer of the Eighth Division, Brigadier Sir Frederick “Blackjack” Galleghan, following a street march along Russell Street into William Street. The parade was led by Bathurst District RSL Band, then under the direction of Charlie Robinson.

Members of the local unit of the Citizens Military Force provided the guard during the dedication ceremony.

Mayor John Matthews and Member for Bathurst Clive Osborne attended. Member for Macquarie, Tony Luchetti, was ill and unable to be there.

In his address to more than 1000 people who gathered for the ceremony, Sir Frederick said young Australians should be reminded of the sacrifices made for their freedom.

The dedication was performed by three army chaplains, one being Archdeacon Clifford Ussher of Bathurst, himself a former Eighth Division survivor.

Units of the Eighth Division Division trained at Bathurst Army Camp before embarking for active service in the ill-fated Malayan campaign.

In this theatre of war, the Eighth Division suffered horrific losses – 2178 killed or believed killed, 136 died of wounds and 4250 died as prisoners of war – a total 6564.

The unit’s strength in Malaya was 17,182 making deaths 38 per cent of the division. Those who survived suffered atrocities at the hands of their Japanese captors.