A monument, a work of art, a tourist attraction—Cobar’s newly installed Iron Ring means different things to different people.
It’s been just over three years since local historian John Collins came up with the idea of an Iron Ringer monument and now that idea has come to fruition as a unique sculpture at the eastern entrance to town.
John worked with an Iron Ringer committee on the idea of building a monument and it was brought to life via a concept drawing by local artist Pete Rogers and the craftsmanship of KML Industries’ tradesmen.
The new monument, standing three metres tall, is made of plate steel, and was mounted on a solid concrete slab adjacent to the Miners Memorial Park (opposite the Great Cobar Museum) last Wednesday.
Interpretive signage, pavers, paths and landscaping are yet to be installed.
According to Cobar history, the term ‘Iron Ringer’ was a privileged title that could only be bestowed on people who were born in Cobar.
The idea came about in the 1950s, with Cobar-born Clarrie Pretty declaring that due to the transient nature of the population, to be a true local, an Iron Ringer, you needed to be born in Cobar.
A close, personal friend of Mr Pretty’s, local solicitor Geoffrey Langford, recalls a discussion he and Mr Pretty had about Iron Ringers.
“Most of the pioneers—the ‘founding fathers’ [and mothers] were not born in Cobar.
“These people of the post-Federation generation developed a strong sense of connection because of the diminishing of Cobar after 1919 when thousands of people left town,” Mr Langford told the Iron Ringer committee.
“Family and friends they had grown up with were gone and did not come back.
“It was a unifying feeling of ‘we survived—we’re still here’.
“The idea of the ‘iron ring’ that bound people together and could not be broken arose out of this and was deeply important.”
Mr Langford said it was about loyalty and having childhood in common.
“It can be summed up as a period of disruption, chaos and uncertainty leading to a need for a sense of identity, stability and loyalty, people you could rely on.”
Donations, including a $10,000 contribution from Aurelia Metals/Peak Gold Mines and a public subscription for pavers, has helped to fund the construction of the monument which aims to be a
