A Sydney council has lashed the "appalling" theft of a bronze honour roll commemorating the service of local residents during World War I.
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Ku-ring-gai Council, in the city's north, has called in police to investigate the late night disappearance from a local park.
The 2m-high bronze plate missing from the gate of Turramurra Memorial Park listed the names of 67 residents, including seven who died in battle.
The memorial was opened in 1928 by then-NSW governor Dudley de Chair and was funded through community donations, mayor Sam Ngai said.
"It provided an ongoing and solemn reminder of the service of local residents fighting for our nation on faraway battlefields," he said.
"It is appalling to think that, nearly 100 years on, the roll has been stolen in the dead of night."
NSW Police confirmed they were called to the park on Monday after receiving a report of malicious damage.
Local officers were investigating and anyone with information was urged to come forward, police said.
Among the 67 local residents listed on the plaque was Lieutenant Norman Dougall, who won a Military Cross for leading a counter-attack in France in 1917.
He died three weeks after his heroic actions.
Australian Associated Press
