Australian War Memorial, Canberra

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This was the first memorial to be erected on ANZAC Parade in 1968 - unveiled by Prime minister, John Gorton. Perhaps consequentially it lacks the symbolism of later additions to the Parade and is very much in the traditional mode of a piece of sculpture on a plinth.

The memorial, more commonly known as the Light Horse Memorial, commemorates members of the Australian Light Horse, the New Zealand Mounted Rifles, the Imperial Camel Corps and the Australian Flying Corps who died in Egypt, Palestine and Syria from 1916 to 1918. It replaces an original 1932 Australian sculpture in Port Said destroyed by Egyptian nationalists during the 1956 Suez crisis. Disagreement in Australia as to where the replacement memorial was to be located lead to two replacements – the other one being in Albany, Western Australia.

The horse's head, recovered from the Port Said memorial, forms the centerpiece of the Animals in War Memorial located in the War Memorial's Sculpture Garden. Do have a look at this memorial there - it is a favourite of mine.

The sculpture, on a granite base, depicts, in bronze, a mounted Australian Light Horseman defending a New Zealander who is standing beside his wounded horse. Simple, but a touching display of the comradeship amongst ANZAC troops.

Click here to return the my Anzac Parade summary tip which provides some detail on the Parade itself and includes links to reviews of all the other memorials on Anzac Parade.

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I have divided this tip into two (ok 3) separate tips so that I can include pictures of all 10 monuments I would like to tell you a little about. Tip 2 can be found here .Tip 3 actually relates to one particular statue which I mention below but about which I would like to share a bit more history – see my separate tip - Bellona - The Offensive Goddess .

The Sculpture Garden found around the Australian War Memorial was established in January 1999 with the aim of offering a place for quiet contemplation of the sacrifice of the many Australians who have died in war. It does this very well.

Many visitors underestimate the time it takes to visit the Australian War Memorial itself with the result that no time is left to have a look at the sculptures around the memorial. Allow a minimum of 3 hrs for the Memorial and Sculpture Garden. Add 1.5hrs if you wish to visit the National memorials on Anzac Parade which I highly recommend you do.

Among the the sculptures in the Sculpture Garden you will find:

Simpson and his donkey, 1915 – Peter Collett – Picture 1

This sculpture, the most visited and loved in the Sculpture Garden is all about the ANZAC story and spirit. A story of courage and tenacity in the face of adversity The story of a soldier – a stretcher bearer, Simpson, enduring pain, injury, fatigue and emotionally drained who perseveres against the odds to save his friends – his mates. A true act of humanity and self sacrifice. Simpson or Private John Simpson Kirkpatrick (arguably Australia’s most famous soldier) took part in the Gallipoli landing on 25 April 1915 and became famous with his donkey for ferrying water in to troops in Shrapnel Gully and ferrying wounded men back out under continual shell fire. He was killed on 19 May 1945 after less than 4 weeks service.

Survivors – Dennis Adams – Picture 2

This memorial commemorates the service and sacrifice of Australian merchant seamen who manned ships around the world during the/First and Second World Wars.

Often, like nurses, merchant seamen are often overlooked though their support through carrying troops and supplies was vital to the success of the war effort.

Bomber Command Memorial –Neil Dawson – Picture 3

This rather odd shaped sculpture commemorates the service and sacrifice of the RAAF air and ground crew who served and died with Bomber Command during the Second World War. The memorial includes a symbolised searchlight beam (Bomber Command operated at night), images of air and ground crew as silhouetted figures in the form of a curved stainless steel wall and stencils of the eight plane types flown (Halifax, Wellington, Lancaster, Mosquito, Stirling, Blenheim, Whitely and Hampden) and a glass plate at the base of the searchlight beam.

Sir Edward "Weary" Dunlop – Peter Collett –Picture 4

This work, a life-size statue of Sir Edward "Weary" Dunlop, commemorates the medical staff who came to the aid of Australian prisoners of war in the Pacific in the Second World War. From another of my tips you will be aware that “Weary’ Dunlop dedicated the rebuilt Changi Chapel at the Royal Military College at Duntroon in 1988. Dunlop was, himself, a prisoner of war and surgeon at Changi Prison Camp in Singapore.

Rabaul and Montevideo Maru Memorial – James Parrett – Picture 5

This 2012 addition to the Sculpture Garden commemorates those Australians who died in the defence of Rabaul (Papua New Guinea), and those who later died as prisoners in the sinking of the Montevideo Maru.

Many Australians were killed during and in the aftermath of the Japanese invasion of Rabaul in January 1942. In late June 1942 more than 1000 Australian servicemen and civilians left Rabaul on the Montevideo Maru. All on board died when the unmarked ship was torpedoed by an American submarine off the Philippines coast on 1 July. While this was Australia’s largest maritime tragedy several other Japanese ships carrying Australian prisoners met the same fate through ‘friendly” fire.

The circular forms in stainless steel are intended to depict waves with the large sweeping curves conveying both the power of the sea and the magnitude of the tragedy.

Bellona and the Lone Pine Tree

Bellona is Canberra’s first statue / memorial dating back to 1926 and has a fascinating history of being loved and hated and being moved on numerous occasions before finally(?) coming to rest at the War Memorial in 1999. I have prepared a separate tip on Bellona - one of Canberra's icons. - Bellona - The Offensive Goddess.

Belonna is located near the Lone Pine tree. This tree was raised from one of the seeds of a pine cone sent home by an Australian soldier at Gallipoli to his mother. It was planted at the Memorial in 1934 in memory of all the sons of Australia who fell at Lone Pine. You can see a picture of the tree on my Bellona tip.

Another 4 memorials are reviewed in my separate tip War Memorial – Sculpture Garden Pt 2 of 2

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This is part two of my tip on the Australian War Memorial’s Sculpture Garden. Part 1 can be found here. There is actually also a part 3 which relates to one particular statue about which I would like to share a bit more history – see that tip here - Bellona - The Offensive Goddess.

The Sculpture Garden found around the Australian War Memorial was established in January 1999 with the aim of offering a place for quiet contemplation of the sacrifice of the many Australians who have died in war. It does this very well.

Among the the sculptures in the Sculpture Garden you will find:

Animals in War Memorial - Pictures 1 and 2

This (one of my favourite statutes in Canberra) Memorial is a joint project between the Australian War Memorial and the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA). The memorial commemorates those animals that served alongside Australians in all conflicts.

The centrepiece of the memorial is a large bronze horse head, the only remaining fragment from the original Desert Mounted Corps memorial – installed in Port Said, Egypt and unveiled in 1932 by Australia's wartime Prime Minister Billy Hughes. In 1956 the Desert Mounted Corps memorial was destroyed by rioters during the Suez Crisis. The remaining fragments of this memorial were returned to Australia.

The original memorial was replaced by two copies in Australia, one of which can be found on Anzac Parade . See my separate tip for details of the new memorials.

National Service Memorial - Picture 3

The National Service Memorial was dedicated on Wednesday, 8 September, 2010.

This memorial remembers all National Servicemen who died on active service and commemorates some 290,000 plus men called up (conscripted) in two schemes between 1951 and 1972 for service in the army navy and air-force.

The sandstone plinth matches the walls of Australian War Memorial and symbolises the earth and Army; the water in the bronze bowl symbolises the Navy; and sky reflected in the polished black granite slab symbolises the Air Force.

The most remembered use of conscripted personnel was in the Vietnam War. From 1965 to 1972, 15,381 national servicemen served in the Vietnam War, of which 200 were killed and 1,279 wounded. Conscription for Vietnam provoked great debate within the Australian community, with university students and others taking part in large anti-conscription and anti-Vietnam War demonstrations. The National Service Scheme was abolished on 5 December 1972.

Australian Servicewomen's Memorial - Picture 4

This memorial, designed by Sydney sculptor, Anne Ferguson, commemorates all women who served, suffered and died in the defence of Australia.

For many women, the work they undertook during the Second World War provided a first taste of freedom and responsibility.

Visitors are invited to stand within the memorial and reflect on the service and sacrifice of Australian Servicewomen

Australian Serviceman's Memorial - Picture 5

This sculpture was initially commissioned for the Hall of Memory in 1954. Australian Serviceman was completed in 1958 and installed in the Hall of Memory, which is where it was displayed until 1993. In 1993 it was removed from the Hall of Memory, when the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was installed.

The figure is intended to symbolise 'young Australia' in an attitude of determination and courage and in a spirit of achievement and hope for the future.

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Dear reader – sit down and let me tell you a story – a story of Canberra’s first statue and war memorial.

In 1916 sculptor Bertram Mackennal, unable to sell this sculpture – entitled War or Bellona – Goddess of War - decided to offer it as a gift to Australia as a tribute to Australian solders in WWI (especially the Anzac’s). It was accepted but it took five years before Prime Minister Hughes sent a thank-you letter - five years during which Bellona lay hidden in a Melbourne celler.

The sculpture was installed on the steps of the then Parliament House in Melbourne on Anzac Day 1921. When Parliament moved to Canberra it was decided that Bellona’s busty company was not required and the Australian War Memorial, then under construction and perhaps an obvious home for the statue, wanted nothing to do with it. Such a display of cleavage was not appropriate for the new Capital. Anyway in 1926 she arrived in Canberra minus her tasteful black marble plinth which was replaced with a crude concrete substitute.

Bellona, Canberra’s first statue, was placed on the southern side of the Molonglo River (pre lake days of course) on Commonwealth Avenue between the two traffic lanes and close to the Albert Hall. Bellona was soon christened Boadicea or Bodie by the locals who loved. The politicians, perhaps of higher morals in those days, still found her hard to take.

People soon decided it was time for fun.

New Years’ Eve revelers on 1 January 1932 adorned Bodie with a wire street waste paper receptacle (placed atop her helmet) and a beer bottle. In 1933 her exposed bust was covered, with an article of ‘women’s wearing apparel’. In March 1939 a pair of conical breast shields made from softened gramophone records adorned her nakedness. Later she had her breasts 'brasso' polished by pranksters to a high gleam.

Panic struck the hierarchy in 1954 when Queen Elizabeth II was to visit Canberra for the first time. Bellona was smack bang in the middle of the processional route – what would her Majesty think ? And worse still, what would Her Majesty think if pranksters stuck? The police assured everyone pranksters would not strike. Thirty-six hours before the arrival of the Queen, Bellona was found sporting an oversized pink bra. The next night green paint was applied. Bellona was removed. It was announced that the move and royal visit were unrelated and Bellona was just moving to her rightful home at the Australian War Memorial.

A few days later pranksters placed a tombstone on the empty site – engraved "RIP Goddess Bellona".

As it happened, Bellona took a circuitous route to the War Memorial via a Government building in Parkes and the grounds of Government House in Yarralumla. The 3km trip took 36 years. After 12 years at the Memorial, in 1993 “the grounds for a sculpture garden required preparation” and Bellona would have to be moved temporarily again and so she was – to within 100metres of her 1926 position by the Albert Hall.

In August 1999 Bellona made her final move to her current position in the new Australian War Memorial Sculpture Garden, backing on to the Lone Pine tree and at a suitably modest distance away from the memorial lest she offend 21st century visitors to the War Memorial in the way she did our early 20th century politicians. Do walk through the grass for a closer look - evidently funds were insufficient to provide a path - or were they?

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Anzac Parade is Canberra’s main ceremonial avenue forming part of the Burley Griffin axis joining Mount Ainslie summit, the Australian War Memorial and the Old and New Houses of Parliament. It runs from the War Memorial to Lake Burley Griffin and is easily distinguished by its red gravel (symbolising blood?) central strip flanked by Victorian blue gum eucalypt trees and by 11 memorials to various campaigns and units of the military forces. The planter boxes, symbolizing the connection with New Zealand, contain a native New Zealand plant, hebe – morning glory. You can get an excellent view of Anzac Parade from the summit of Mount Ainslie or closer up from the main steps of the War Memorial.

Anzac Parade was officially opened on 25 April 1965 to coincide with the 50th Anniversary of the Anzac (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) soldiers landing in Gallipoli (Turkey) on 25 April 1915.

The memorials along the parade are:

Australian Hellenic Memorial
Australian Army National Memorial
Australian National Korean War Memorial
Australian Vietnam Forces National Memorial
Desert Mounted Corps Memorial
New Zealand Memorial
Rats of Tobruk Memorial
Royal Australian Air Force Memorial
Australian Service Nurses National Memorial
Royal Australian Navy Memorial
Kemal Ataturk Memorial

Click on each memorial name for a brief review. The reviews you will find are based on information available on the memorials themselves in addition to factual data sourced from other locations. With a few exceptions I have resisted to temptation to add my personal feelings - readers will have or create their own impressions.

War is an awful thing and visiting these memorials and thinking about the thousands and indeed millions who have had their lives cut short as a result of war will drive that point home - it certainly does for me each time I walk or drive down Anzac Parade. There is no glorification of war here.

Given the high level of symbolism contained in the majority of the memorials I encourage you to read the reviews prior to visiting them - I think you will gain more from your visit by so doing.

Even for those with no interest in the history behind these memorials a visit purely for their aesthetic appeal is worthwhile.

The memorials are listed above in the order you will find them if you walk down the right hand side of the parade (towards the lake) and back up the other side to the Australian War Memorial. The easy walk, from and back to the War Memorial, is 2.5kms. Allow yourself at least 1.5hrs.

LEST WE FORGET

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This memorial, a crescent-shaped wall and five pillars derived from the symbol and star on the Turkish flag was dedicated on 25 April 1985 to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Gallipoli landing. It honours Kemal Ataturk, commander of Turkish forces at Gallipoli and later the first president of modern Turkey, as well as the heroism and sacrifice of both the Anzac and Turkish troops who took part in the campaign.

The words inscribed on the memorial are Ataturk's tribute to those Anzacs who did not return from Gallipoli:

‘THOSE HEROES THAT SHED THEIR BLOOD
AND LOST THEIR LIVES... YOU ARE
NOW LYING IN THE SOIL OF A FRIENDLY
COUNTRY. THEREFORE REST IN PEACE.
THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE
JOHNNIES AND MEHMETS TO US
WHERE THEY LIE SIDE BY SIDE HERE IN
THIS COUNTRY OF OURS... YOU, THE
MOTHERS, WHO SENT THEIR SONS FROM
FARAWAY COUNTRIES WIPE AWAY YOUR
TEARS; YOUR SONS ARE NOW LYING IN
OUR BOSOM AND ARE IN PEACE. AFTER
HAVING LOST THEIR LIVES ON THIS LAND
THEY HAVE BECOME OUR SONS AS WELL.'
KEMAL ATATURK

On the pillars (added in 2007) are a series of interpretive panels outlining the Gallipoli campaign and the role of Ataturk.

Soil from Anzac Cove at Gallipoli was placed beneath the dedication plaque in the centre of the circular pavement. Surrounding the Memorial are pine trees - Pinus halepensis - grown from seed collected from the Gallipoli 'lone pine'.

Behind the memorial is a small memorial garden established in return for Turkey’s gesture of adopting the name “Anzac Cove” for the place at Gallipoli peninsula where the ANZAC troops landed on 25 April 1915. Two other reciprocal gestures agreed to by the Australian Government were to name part of Lake Burley Griffin shoreline at the foot of Anzac Parade as Gallipoli Reach and to name the entrance to King George Sound, at Albany in Western Australia, as Ataturk Entrance. King George Sound is where the first Anzac convoy assembled before departure. Another Kemal Ataturk Memorial has been built overlooking Ataturk Entrance.

Click here to return the my Anzac Parade summary tip which provides some detail on the Parade itself and includes links to reviews of all the other memorials on Anzac Parade.

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Unveiled in 1986 by Her Majesty the Queen and marking the 75th Anniversary of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), the memorial - also known as “Sailors and Ships - Interaction and Interdependence” - symbolises the mutual dependence of sailors and their ships, its dynamic force complemented by the image of moving water. The design, by Ante Dabro, represents Naval duty as being constantly watchful, vigilant and ready and able to make an immediate disciplined response. The geometric shapes symbolise a ship, and the emerging figures portray a range of ranks and activities commonly associated with Navy personnel.

The memorial is a very fitting tribute to and is dedicated to all those who have served or are serving as permanent or reserve members of the Royal Australian Navy.

The RAN has served with distinction during both World Wars, the Malayan Emergency and also in the Korean, Vietnam and Gulf wars and has made a significant contributions to peace
operations in the Middle East, Somalia, Cambodia, Bougainville and East Timor.


Walk around the sculpture not only to look at the interaction between sailor and ship, but also to listen to the water (when it's running – which it wasn’t on my most recent visit when I took the attached pictures). Each element has a distinctive sound - for example, the bow wave has a slight hiss and the main gush of water behind the sculpture throbs as though driven by propellers. There is the sound of water cascading from a submarine’s tower and the general turbulence created by a ship’s passage.

I understand a re-dedication ceremony will occur for this memorial on 1 March 2013 (why I am not sure) during which new battle honour plaques will also be unveiled.

Click here to return the my Anzac Parade summary tip which provides some detail on the Parade itself and includes links to reviews of all the other memorials on Anzac Parade.

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This memorial was unveiled by Governor-General, Sir William Dean on 2 October 1999 to mark 100 years of military nursing and to honour those who served, died and suffered in war.

Military nursing in Australia was established in 1899. In January 1900 fourteen nurses left Sydney for the Boer War. Since then, service nurses have played an important role in every major conflict in which Australia has been involved.

The memorial, designed by Robin Moorhouse and unlike all others on Anzac Parade, is horizontal, flowing in form and nurturing in character with two curving lines based on the female form. 
 A time capsule containing the names of the many service nurses who have died in war lies beneath the entrance to the memorial.

This memorial is made of cast glass with text and images etched and cast into the inner glass walls, in a timeline sequence, portraying the history and contribution of Australian Service Nursing. Some panels are intentionally blank reminding us that the work of Service nursing is incomplete and ongoing.

How do we measure the value of the service nurses over the years - their human dignity and worth, their dedication in bringing succour and care, their commitment beyond self, their courage, their companionship and their fortitude? For me it is well and simply summed up by the narration on the front wall of the memorial - “beyond all praise”.

Do sit down in the area set aside for private contemplation and think about these unsung heroes.

Click here to return the my Anzac Parade summary tip which provides some detail on the Parade itself and includes links to reviews of all the other memorials on Anzac Parade.

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This memorial to the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) honours the service and sacrifice of the men and women who have served in the RAAF and its predecessor, the Australian Flying Corps.

The original memorial was unveiled by HRH Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh in his role as Marshal of the RAAF in 1973 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the formation of the RAAF. 
The main sculpture by Inge King comprises three large stainless steel panels reminiscent of aircraft wings and representing the endurance, strength and courage of RAAF personnel, rise vertically from the base with a bronze flight sculpture in the centre embodying man's struggle to conquer the elements. The inscription on the front of the memorial per ardua ad astra is the RAAF motto meaning "through adversity to the stars".

The memorial was extended in 2002 through the addition of three polished granite walls at the rear depicting major war scenes from 1915 to the present. 
 Personally I don’t think the additions enhanced the memorial which I now find to be the least aesthetically pleasing of those on Anzac Parade. This does not, of course, lessen its role as a tribute to valiant RAAF members.

The RAAF was established in 1921—just three years after the (British) Royal Air Force. Australian pilots were on active service in 1914 in New Guinea, and in 1915 the Australian Flying Corps was fighting in Mesopotamia (Iraq). By 1918, squadrons were also in action on the Western Front in France. During World War II the RAAF served with distinction in the Middle East, Britain and the Pacific. The RAAF also served in the Malayan, Korean and Vietnam conflicts and, more recently, RAAF personnel have served in the Gulf War, East Timor and numerous peacekeeping operations.

Click here to return the my Anzac Parade summary tip which provides some detail on the Parade itself and includes links to reviews of all the other memorials on Anzac Parade.

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In referring to the garrison of 20,000 allied troops (14,000 of whom were Australian) William Joyce aka Lord Haw Haw, the British traitor turned German radio propagandist, likened the troops to ”rats who would be smoked out of their holes”. Not to be down heartened by this reference the troops took up the name and thus were born the “Rats of Tobruk”.

This memorial commemorates the World War II siege of Tobruk, Libya, from April to December 1941.

The Memorial (dedicated by Governor General , Sir Ninian Stephen in April 1983) is based on the, since destroyed, memorial in the Tobruk War Cemetery built by Royal Australian Engineers during the siege. The marble inscription stone (originally one of the steps of the Tobruk Post Office) from the Tobruk memorial was recovered after WWII and and is incorporated in the obelisk (see last picture attached).

The walls of the memorial symbolise the perimeter defences of Tobruk and the landscaping around it symbolises the area (and coastline) in which the siege took place. The “Eternal Flame” made from a bronze sheet was installed in 1984. A time capsule containing a Tobruk medal, a German propaganda pamphlet urging Australians to surrender and a map of Tobruk was placed in the step below the marble stone on 17 April 1991, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the siege.

The siege of Tobruk was the first major reversal for German forces in WWII showing that the, to date, Blitzkreig, could be successfully resisted.

Click here to return the my Anzac Parade summary tip which provides some detail on the Parade itself and includes links to reviews of all the other memorials on Anzac Parade.