ONE WEEK ago it was just a slab of concrete, but the soon-to-be Memorial Wall outside the Leyburn RSL is now undeniably taking shape.

The new wall, outside the three-year-old RSL museum building, will be made of smart black tiles with the names of former war servicemen engraved in gold.

It will also feature the emblem of the rising sun as a centrepiece.

RSL president of three years Gary Sprott said he hoped the monument would be finished before the historic Leyburn Sprints next weekend.

“It will probably be one of the nicest in Australia,” he said.

“We’ve gone into a lot of detail with it. It will be about eight metres long and three metres high.”

The memorial wall is the result of $3600 worth of federal government funding, $20,000 from Jupiter’s Casino and help from council, as well as other various fundraising.

Mr Sprott said the members of the RSL had been throwing in their talents to help assemble the wall.

“It’s going to be the piece de resistance,” he laughed.

“It will be a true showcase for the museum.”

The museum itself is home to a number of interesting items from the region.

With Leyburn home to one of the oldest car sprint events in Queensland, there are a number of historic racing items and souvenirs.

There are also a few items collected by Mr Sprott himself that has had him scratching his head for the past eight months.

While searching for gold at a nearby property, he came across hundreds of what he calls ‘fossils’. At first glance the objects, each about one foot long, appear to be a rock, but there are clear imprints of patterns and shapes on each one.

Sending them to a university three times to be studied didn’t make it any clearer and Mr Sprott has his own thoughts on what they might be.

“I reckon they’re either from out of space or been pumped from under ground. It could be iron stone,” he said.