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The Newcastle War Memorial Cultural Centre is the home of Newcastle Region Library. When the building was opened on 26 October 1957 by the Governor of New South Wales, Lieutenant-General Woodward,the building housed the Library, Art Gallery and Conservatorium of Music. The Art Gallery and Conservatorium eventually moved to new buildings leaving the Library as the sole occupant of the building.

Design and construction
The Cultural Centre was to be an integral part of the development of a civic square. Every possible site was investigated, including Birdwood Park and the former brewery in Wood Street.The site selected was one bounded by Laman, Dawson, Queen and Darby Streets. The elevation gave it a commanding position and Civic Park provided an artistic foreground.

Controversy arose in the acquisition of the Laman Street site as it would involve expenditure for resumptions. There was discontent in parts of the community that the residents of Laman Street were being displaced by the building of a memorial which they believed should have rated as a lesser priority than tackling the housing shortage in the City.

The opinions of the councillors varied. Alderman Armstrong stated that "the aged and infirm should be cared for before a cultural centre was built." Alderman Lewis believed it was "better to care for the living than erect a memorial to the dead."

The Lord Mayor reassured the community that families occupying homes on the Cultural Centre site would not be evicted until suitable alternative accommodation was available. A start on the demolition on the first of the buildings required for the Cultural Centre took place in March 1953.

Once the site for the Cultural Centre was selected, a lengthy process of building design was undertaken. The architects. known as NEWMEC, were a consortium of local architects. The group consisted of Castledon and Sara, Hoskins and Pilgrim, Jester Rodd and Hay, R.G. Lees, Pitt and Merewether, and P. Thelander.

In 1955 the design for the building was accepted and tenders for its construction were called. The design included a reference and lending library on the ground floor, a children's library and art gallery on the second floor and the conservatorium of music on the third floor. The memorial foyer was designed by Lyndon Dadswell after he won a competition for his design. In April 1955, V. F. Doran & Sons tender for £173,000 was accepted and the building contract signed. Building operations commenced in May 1955.

Features of the building include the Memorial Foyer dominated by the bronze statues designed by Lyndon Dadswell. The foyer's wall panels are of highly polished travertine and the floor is terrazzo, coloured red, white and black with gold specks. Two decorative sandstone panels were placed either side of the entrance doors. The bas-relief figures depicting the activities of the Cultural Centre on the panels were designed and sculpted by Paul Beadle.

Him 'n' Her
In October 1954, Lyndon Dadswell was engaged to create the sculture for the Memorial Foyer. Widely credited as a pioneer of modern sculpture in Australia, Dadswell's varied body of work included studio and civic sculpture. Dadswell was dedicated to the development of sculpture as a public art. Lyndon Dadswell believed that war memorial work should be designed for beautifying rather than merely illustrating. "Instead of a man standing on his pedestal recalling a particular period of destruction and human folly let us have some symbol which leads our thoughts in the direction of peace and right thinking." Society of Artists Book 1944 (Sydney: Ure Smith 1944)

The design competition for the Newcastle War Memorial Cultural Centre sculptures required that the work be, "symbolical of the spirit of sacrifice, peace or some other suitable motif." [Newcastle Morning Herald 28 Oct 1954]

Dadswell's design represented "the participation of both sexes in War and Peace. Human beings emerging from great suffering with their heads held high... beings tortured and strong with a dignity wrung from victory over suffering." 6 [Newcastle Morning Herald 20 Jan 1956] The sculptures provoked controversy. They were widely perceived as having transgressed the accepted formula for war memorial work. Critics labelled the design "a monstrosity", "bodgie art" and "something to frighten naughty boys." 7 [Newcastle Sun 22 Oct 1957]

The commission was completed at a studio rented for the purpose in Double Bay, where the full-sized plaster figures were cut into 14 sections and shipped to a foundry at Moorabbin in Victoria. Here the statues were cast, assembled, welded, polished and coated with green colouring.

Known as ‘Dave and Mabel’ by the foundry workers, the hollow figures weighed 1 ton 23 pounds (1 tonne). The male figure was 11 feet high (3.4m) and the female figure 10 feet (3m) high. The statues were delivered just days before the opening of the Cultural Centre. The community flocked to the building to view the figures, and offer their comments.

The male and female figures stand on a plinth of marble, with wavy lines representing areas of land separated by water, indicating the separation and service of the Australian forces. Also on the base is a broken sword, a symbol of the end of the conflict and the upward glance conveys a feeling of hope for future peace.

Accompanying the figures is an inscription: "In minds ennobled here The noble dead shall live." The words, written by Jessie Sheridan-McLaughlin, were chosen from hundreds of entries in a competition to find an appropriate inscription for the memorial.

Over time, the formally titled "Figure Group" has become a much-loved icon in Newcastle, and is widely known as 'Him 'n' Her'.

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