Private Robert Weir Print Page

The cenotaph erected at gravesite commemorates Private Robert Weir, a Kiama volunteer who died in service in 1885 while fighting in the Sudan War. The memorial was restored and unveiled on the 15th July 2015. 

Robert Weir succumbed to a combination of dysentery and cholera and died aboard a hospital ship on the Red Sea. He was the first person to die in war while fighting on behalf of the British colony. His body was laid to rest alongside British troops at Suakim in north-eastern Sudan, but his comrades wanted a tribute on home soil. At the time almost the entire adult population of Kiama chipped in 2 shillings and sixpence each to have the £30  'cenotaph' constructed.

Location

Address:	Princes Highway , Kiama Cemetery , Bombo, 2533
State:	NSW
Area:	AUS
GPS Coordinates:	Lat: -34.660395 Long: 150.852527 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate.

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Details

Monument Type:	Grave
Monument Theme:	People
Sub-Theme:	Military
Actual Event Start Date:	01-May-1885
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Actual Event End Date:	01-May-1885
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Dedication

Actual Monument Dedication Date:	Saturday 19th June, 1886
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Source: MA