The monument located prominently at Shannon’s Te Maire Park commemorates local soldiers who served in World War One, World War Two and the Vietnam War. It was completed and unveiled in 1924, with more names added subsequently. It has historical and social heritage significance as a lasting reminder of the great impact of these international conflicts on the local community. As part of a national wave of war memorial building in the 1920s, the Shannon monument demonstrates how New Zealanders coped with the aftermath of World War One, and it continues to be a focal point of remembrance ceremonies such as Anzac Day.

Shannon developed from land opened up for sale by the Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company in 1887, and grew steadily from that time, supported by farming and the booming flax and timber milling industries. By the 1911 census, Shannon had a population of 752. The declaration of war between the British Empire and Germany in August 1914 had a huge impact on the township. Around 150 local men went overseas for military duty, and the remaining community supported the war effort with many patriotic fundraising events. Everyone in Shannon was affected by the absence of those who were away, and the lives of the family and friends of the 24 local men who did not come home were changed forever.

The need to honour those who had served and provide a place for the grieving to visit in the absence of a gravesite was no doubt discussed immediately after the war ended in November 1918. However, the proposal for a ‘soldiers’ memorial’ gathered momentum from 1920 under the leadership of Shannon’s mayor, Mr William Murdoch. For the next few years, the community held numerous fundraising events and collections.

By May 1922 a design for the memorial had been drafted and its location was being debated. It was not until 1923 that a concrete obelisk, designed by the Borough Engineer, Mr R. Edwards, F.N.Z.I.A., and the prominent site on Plimmer Terrace were settled on. Messrs J.W. Fisher and Co.’s tender for £180 was accepted in August 1923 and construction began. The resulting obelisk tapered to a sharp point from a square base which rested on a stepped plinth. A cornice and tympanums sat above marble plaques inscribed not only with the names of the district’s fallen, but also of all the local men who had fought in defence of the empire. While the obelisk was the most popular form for memorials at this time, only a fifth of the World War One memorials built in New Zealand included the names of all who had served.

The memorial was unveiled by His Worship Mr Murdoch on 25 April 1924. It was the first of many Anzac Day services held at the monument, which became also known as the Shannon Cenotaph. Following World War Two, plaques with the names of twelve men were added. The memorial now also honours a soldier in the Vietnam War, and four more names were added in 2011 following new research into the Gallipoli campaign.
For many years the obelisk remained in fairly stark surroundings in the road reserve. In 1994 the redevelopment of Te Maire Park began. The monument is now in a setting of established native trees and a memorial garden, which includes a flagpole and the Percy Nation Memorial (List No. 4067) which was relocated there in 2001.