Delve deeper: Ian Pullar, president of the Kiama Jamberoo RSL Sub Branch, left, and Kiama councillor Dennis Seage at the leaning arch. Picture: KEN ROBERTSON
KIAMA council is poised to spend $15,000 on an investigation into what is causing the town's Memorial Arch to lean.
The lean has been traced back to 1953 and is thought to have worsened in recent years.
A report to Kiama Council recommends allocating the funds for a geotechnical and structural assessment of the structure in Hindmarsh Park.
Councillor Dennis Seage said he expected a unanimous vote in favour of the spend at the council's meeting this evening.
"Of course it is [worth it]," he said. "It was built in 1925 and is a Heritage-listed arch.
"It's got the names of World War I veterans ... World War II veterans, Vietnam veterans and ... post-75 veterans. Given that it's a very focal part of Kiama, I think people will understand that it needs to happen."
A report, requested by councillor Mark Way at a November council meeting and prepared by its director of engineering and works, says it will not be possible to correct the lean, regardless of the investigation's outcome.
"Any attempt to correct the lean on the arch would be extremely risky and could not be supported," the report says.
"The most likely treatment will be underpinning of the arch."
A creek that once flowed through Hindmarsh Park was piped about six metres underground in the early 1900s, in an area used as a tip.
The arch is at least partly constructed on top of fill material, "likely to be variable in nature and not consolidated".
The council is currently planning a memorial walkway, to include names of deceased veterans with family in Kiama.
Cr Seage invited families interested in including their relative's name to contact the council.