The Southland Cenotaph, in Gala St, was officially unveiled to the public on Sunday, December 6, 1925, by governor-general Sir Charles Ferguson.
The crowd gathered for the occasion was reported to number more than 6000, including nearly 1000 returned soldiers.
Invercargill Mayor Tom Campbell said, 100 years on, the cenotaph remained a powerful symbol of the respect and gratitude the community felt for those who had died in the war.
"The Southland cenotaph is an enduring reminder that we must continue to honour those who served and ensure their stories are never forgotten," he said.
"A century later, the cenotaph does more than honour the legacy of those who lost their lives — it challenges us as a community to live in a way that reflects upon and respects the sacrifice made in the past, for our future."
At the end of World War 1, the Fallen Soldiers Memorial Committee was formed in Invercargill.
The committee aimed to raise funds for a memorial commemorating Southlanders who served and died overseas.
The eventual Southland Cenotaph was designed by Dunedin architectural firm Coombs and White.
The memorial was heavily influenced by The Cenotaph in Whitehall in London, designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens and unveiled in 1920 as the United Kingdom’s national memorial to the fallen of Britain and the Empire.
The 3m-high statue of a soldier on Invercargill’s monument was cut and sculpted by G. Cancare. The whole memorial was carved from Bluff granite.
As well as the names of Southland soldiers killed in action during the war, the cenotaph also bears the names of Southland nurses who also died overseas during the conflict.
The wider community was asked to submit the names and details of the soldiers and nurses who had died.
The programme for the ceremony noted that the memorial was "Erected by the People of Southland in Grateful Remembrance of those who, at the call of Duty, left all that was dear unto them, faced danger, endured hardship, and finally laid down their lives for their Country in the Great War, 1914-1918".
The unveiling ceremony also included renditions of the hymn Nearer, My God, to Thee, the Last Post and God Save the King, as well as an address from then Invercargill mayor Andrew Bain, who served two terms in the role from 1923 to 1927.
Mr Campbell said the sizable crowds who gathered at the cenotaph every year, for occasions including Anzac Day, showed the community still held a deep level of respect for those who had served in conflicts throughout the world.
"While the world has changed enormously since 1925, the horror at the human cost of war still resonates deeply. Looking at the cenotaph today, we are not just remembering names carved in granite — we are mourning those whose contribution to our community was cut tragically short."
The word cenotaph is derived from the Greek word kenos and taphos, meaning "empty tomb".
— Allied Media
