The Levin cenotaph or Stone of Remembrance was unveiled in the Levin Public Gardens by Major General Sir Edward Chaytor on 11 March 1923. (It was not Levin's only First World War memorial: one month later, Prime Minister W.F. Massey formally opened the Weraroa Peace Gate on the Weraroa Domain at the southern end of town.)
The cenotaph was an imposing structure of Nelson marble mounted on a rockery or raised garden. The tablet at the back was inscribed: "In Remembrance / of the men of the district / who laid down their lives / in the Great War / 1914-1918 / Their names live for evermore". The Roll of Honour at the front listed 64 names. There was a cross on each side.
In 2007 a project to upgrade the memorial began. As the result of research undertaken by members of 'Adopt an Anzac', a plaque correcting six of the names was placed at the foot of the cenotaph in 2009. The rock garden was removed and an imposing flight of steps was constructed. A low curved wall was built behind the cenotaph to display four new memorial panels: the first listed two South African War casualties and 13 additional First World War names; the second was a near-replica of the Second World War II roll of honour unveiled in the Levin War Memorial Hall in 1953; the third listed nine additional Second World War names and one Korean War name (G.R.M. Thomas, who had previously appeared on the Second World War roll of honour); the fourth acknowledged service in these and other conflicts ("They served / We remember the local men and women / who served in overseas conflicts / and have gone before us").
The revamped memorial was rededicated on 24 April 2010. The park in which it stands was formally renamed Remembrance Park on 27 August 2010.
See: '"Stone of Remembrance": fallen soldiers' memorial unveiled', Levin Chronicle, 15/3/1923, p. 3; Linda Fletcher, Horowhenua and the Great War, 1914-1918, Levin, 2014, pp. 17-83, 216-219; Linda Fletcher, Remembering ... Horowhenua and the Second World War, Levin, 2014, pp. 15-60.
Main image: Jock Phillips and Chris Maclean, c. 1986; additional images: Glennis Austen, 2005; Linda Fletcher, 2009–2022
Text: Bruce Ringer, 2022