Anzac Day 2009
Section 5: Remembering and honouring: memorials and heritage
Remembrance Day
Remembrance Day (11 November) is the anniversary of the armistice which ended World
War I (1914–18). It is set aside as a day to remember the sacrifice
of those who have died for
Australia
in wars and conflicts. It was originally known as Armistice Day.
For a history of how Armistice Day became Remembrance Day see
Jennifer
Amess,
'A day of remembrance: 11 November ', Sabretache , vol. 24,
April–June 1983, pp. 25–26.
The Flanders poppy (a bright red poppy) has been part of Armistice or Remembrance Day
since the early 1920s. Wearing a red poppy is a sign of remembrance
for the servicemen and women who have died in war.
For further information see
the Background Note, 'Remembrance
Day 2008—the 90th anniversary of the end of World War I', published
by the Parliamentary Library in November 2008.
War memorials overseas
Kevin
Blackburn
discusses
the restored Changi Murals originally
created in a chapel (St
Luke's)
within the huge prisoner of war camp established in the Changi area
by the Japanese after the fall of
Singapore
in February
1942. Between September 1942 and May 1943 five near life-size murals
of scenes from the New Testament were painted by a British prisoner,
Stanley Warren, on two of the chapel's walls.
The Hellfire
Pass Memorial in
Thailand
is dedicated to those Australian and other allied prisoners
of war (POWs) and Asian labourers who suffered and died at Hellfire
Pass (Burma-Thailand Railway) and elsewhere in the Asia Pacific region
during World War II. It was officially opened on 24 April 1998 by the
Prime Minister,
John
Howard
and the Prime Minister of Thailand,
Chuan
Leekpai.
The Australian
War Memorial in London was dedicated on the morning of 11 November
2003 by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and Prime Minister
John
Howard,
in the presence of HRH The Duke of Kent, Prime Minister
Tony
Blair,
and a party of 27 Australian World War II veterans. The
Memorial features a long, curving wall of West Australian green granite,
reflecting the sweep of the Australian landscape. Inscribed on the wall
are the names of many of the battle sites where Australian
and British military personnel fought, superimposed upon the names of
thousands of home towns of Australian men and women who served during
the two world wars. The periodic flow of water across the wall highlights
these names and is designed to evoke memories of the suffering and loss
felt by all.
The Australian
National Memorial at Villers-Bretonneux in northern
France
was unveiled on 22 July 1938 by King
George
VI.
It lies within the Villers-Bretonneux Military Cemetery and was erected
to commemorate all Australian soldiers who fought in France and Belgium
during the First World War, and their dead, especially those with no
known grave. The servicemen named on the
memorial were Australians who died ‘in the battlefields of the Somme,
Arras, the German advance of 1918 and the Advance to Victory’.
In 2008, to commemorate
the 90th anniversary of the battle on Anzac Day 1918,
an Australian-led Dawn Service was held on Anzac Day at the Australian
National Memorial near Villers-Bretonneux. This was the first official
Australian Dawn Service to be held at the Memorial at Villers-Bretonneux.
The Department of Veterans' Affairs has a website with information
and advice for those planning to attend Anzac Day commemorative
services on the Western Front.
The
Park of the Australian Soldier at Be’er Shev in
Israel,
commemorating the charge of the Australian Mounted Division’s 4th Brigade against Turkish positions at Beersheba (now called Be’er Sheva)
on 31 October 1917, was dedicated in
Israel
in April 2008. The 90th anniversary of the
charge of the Australian Light Horse was commemorated in 2007.
The website of the Office of Australian War Graves contains links to overseas memorials, with
information on current projects on overseas and Australian memorials.
War memorials in
Australia
In addition to the Australian
War Memorial (opened on 11 November 1941), there are a number of
other sources of information about war memorials in
Australia
:
In 'War
Memorials in the Australian landscape', Ken Inglis describes the
importance of local memorials to Australian communities.
The Australian Ex-Prisoners
of War Memorial located in Ballarat, Victoria, honours more than
35 000 Australians who were held prisoner during the Boer War,
World War I, World War II and the Korean War.
The National Capital Authority's
internet pages have information about the memorials
lining Anzac Parade in Canberra. New memorials planned for positions
on or near Anzac Parade are: the Australian
Peacekeeping Memorial, the site of which was dedicated on 29
November 2007, with the winning
design announced on 19 December 2008; the Boer
War Memorial the site of which was dedicated
on 31 May 2008; and twin
memorials to World Wars I and II on the Rond Terrace at the opposite
end of Anzac Parade to the Australian War Memorial.
The Queensland Anzac Day Commemoration Committee's website has the
history, descriptions and photographs of the State war memorials in each State capital.
The Australian-American
Memorial was dedicated by Queen Elizabeth II on 16 February 1954.
It stands 73 metres high in the forecourt of Field Marshal Sir Thomas
Blamey Square at the Department of Defence Offices, Russell, in Canberra.
It is one of the city’s most prominent and distinctive landmarks. The press release from Senator the Hon. Robert Hill on the 50th anniversary
of its unveiling contains further details.
War
Memorials in Australia
is a private site which contains information on locations,
descriptions and images of war memorials in the states and territories
of
Australia.
Remembrance Driveway, which
runs between Sydney and Canberra, was suggested by the Garden Club of
Australia. Over fifty groves have been planted alongside the Hume and
Federal Highways. The Driveway is a memorial to those who served in
World War II and subsequent wars. The first of its trees—at Macquarie
Place in Sydney (a plane tree), and the War Memorial in Canberra (a
snow gum)—were planted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1954. It was intended
to have a variety of trees, each selected for its suitability to local
soil and climatic conditions. Each of the trees honours a serviceman
or woman and some bear a plaque with his or her name. During the 1990s
the Remembrance Driveway Committee and the NSW Roads and Traffic Authority
worked together to develop 'Victoria Cross' rest areas along the highway—Gordon
VC, Mackay VC, Kingsbury VC, Chowne VC, Derrick VC, French VC, Kibby
VC, Edmondson VC, Wheatley VC and Gurney VC.
Australia’s
military heritage
Post-1945 Conflicts Gallery at the Australian War Memorial
After a major redevelopment at the
Australian War Memorial in Canberra, the Australian War
Memorial’s Post-1945 Conflicts Gallery was opened by Prime Minister
Kevin Rudd on 26 February 2008. The new gallery expands the displays
of post-1945 conflicts, including the Korean War, the Malayan Emergency,
Indonesian Konfrontasi, the Vietnam War, peacekeeping, and more
recent conflicts, including the First Gulf War and the current
Afghanistan
and
Iraq
wars. There are many exhibits, artworks, relics, stories
and large- and small-scale multimedia presentations which depict Australians
in war and peacekeeping since 1945.
Major exhibits include an Iroquois helicopter,
using cutting-edge light and sound technology to show troops leaving
the helicopter for a jungle patrol. Businessman Mr Dick Smith provided
$1 million of sponsorship for this display. Visitors are also able
to enter the actual
bridge of HMAS Brisbane, which served in the
Vietnam
and Gulf Wars, and be part of an interactive experience.
Another new addition is the film in the Vietnam War gallery which was
commissioned by the War Memorial to re-enact the Battle of Long Tan.
In 'A
letter from Long Tan', Chris Roberts describes the story behind
the making of the film and the lengths to which the the Memorial went
to ensure that the film is as historically accurate as possible. (Wartime,
no. 46, 2009, pp. 52-55)
Department
of Veterans’ Affairs
Nominal Roll of Vietnam Veterans
The Nominal Roll of Vietnam Veterans was
originally launched in August 2006. Approximately 60 000 individuals
served with Australia’s defence forces in Vietnam or in the waters adjacent
to Vietnam between 23 May 1962 and 29 April 1975. The newly enhanced
version of the on-line Nominal Roll was launched
on Vietnam Veterans’ Day 18 August 2007. This provides additional
details of each individual’s military service in Vietnam.
Gallipoli websites
The Visit Gallipoli website includes history
and educational resources, and for those planning a visit, there is
also a guided walk that takes trekkers to 14 locations such as North
Beach, Anzac Cove, Shrapnel Gulley, Lone Pine, Quinn’s Post and The
Nek.
Gallipoli
and the Anzacs, created by the Information Services Branch of the
Board of Studies NSW for the Department of Veterans' Affairs, contains
a range of educational resources.
Western Front
The Office
of Australian War Graves (within the DVA) have stepped up activities
to enhance
commemoration of Australian service in
France
and
Belgium.
In response to an increasing number of visitors to the
battlefields and war cemeteries, eighteen interpretive panels have been
erected in France and two in Belgium to explain the significance of
each battle site. A feasibility study had been conducted into the possibility
of establishing an interpretive centre for Australians (and others)
visiting the Western Front, however, the government is now assessing
other options to commemorate Australians on the Western Front.
The Australian
Corps Memorial Park at Le Hamel—one of several
memorials on the Western Front—was closed to visitors in February
2008 for rebuilding, after the original memorial deteriorated due to
environmental damage and vandalism. The work was completed by August
2008 and the memorial was re-dedicated
by the Governor General on 8 November 2008.
Remains of war dead
Bodies of service personnel are often discovered on old battlefields
or in wrecked ships or aircraft. When such discoveries are made, the
standard practice is to inter bodies in a Commonwealth War Graves Commission
cemetery.
Northern France
In May and June 2008 archaeological
excavation work was carried out on a mass
grave confirming that the site contains human remains, likely to
be those of a number of the 170 Australian
soldiers and 327 British soldiers missing after the Battle of Fromelles
in 1916. These soldiers are believed to have been buried by the Germans
in a paddock near Pheasant Wood in northern France in July 1916 after
the battle. The Army History Unit re-engaged a team from the Glasgow
University Archaeological Division which conducted a non-invasive survey
at Fromelles in May 2007. This earlier survey revealed underground anomalies
matching five pits seen in aerial photographs after the battle.
The Australian and British
Governments announced
on 4 October 2008 that the remains would be recovered and re-interred
in a new cemetery and work to exhume the soldiers’ bodies is due to begin on 5 May 2009. Recently, plans for a new cemetery in an open field in Fromelles were unveiled. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission will begin construction of the new walled cemetery in June. On 2 April 2009 the Australian Government published
a list of the names of 191 Australian soldiers whose remains may
be among those being recovered. The Department of Defence has a website
with details of the project .
HMAS Sydney
II
The wreck of HMAS Sydney II, which sank with all 645 crew after engaging the German raider
HSK Kormoran on 19 November 1941, was found on 16 March 2008, twelve nautical miles from the wreck of the Kormoran and eight nautical miles from the scene of the principal battle site,
at a depth of 2470 metres. The Kormoran lost over 80 sailors
in its attack on the
Sydney.
The Finding
Sydney Foundation website contains video footage of both wrecks,
background information on the ships and a roll of honour. ABC television
broadcast a documentary, The Hunt for HMAS Sydney,
which detailed the successful search for both the
Sydney
and the Kormoran.
Both
wrecks have been given legal
protection by the Australian Government under the Historic Shipwrecks
Act 1976. On 31 March 2008 the Australian Government announced the
establishment of a commission
of inquiry into the loss of HMAS Sydney, which is headed
by His Honour Mr Terence Cole. The Commission
of Inquiry has now completed its public hearings.
A memorial
ceremony attended by some relatives of the crew of HMAS Sydney was held over the site of the wreck of the Sydney and then over
the site of the wreck of the Kormoran on 16 April 2008. The Australian
Government also held a national memorial service on 24 April in
Sydney.
On 19
November 2008, the 67th anniversary of the sinking, a
memorial service took place on board the current HMAS Sydney above the wreck site, in conjunction with a national memorial service
at the Australian War Memorial. At the same time the remains of the 'unknown
sailor', the sailor believed to be the only crew member to be found
after the sinking of the Sydney were interred at Geraldton.
While there is already a memorial to the loss of HMAS Sydney at Geraldton in Western Australia,
the government is considering building a national memorial to the Sydney either in Sydney or Canberra.
World War II aircraft wrecks
An ABC Radio National Background Briefing program, ‘Lost
planes, lost men’, examined the situation of the many Australian
war planes which crashed in Australia, Papua New Guinea and the Pacific
during World War II, and the trade in war souvenirs.
Vietnam
The Army
History Unit has supported searches for the remains of missing personnel
in Vietnam. In 2007 the remains of three Australian servicemen, Lance
Corporal Richard Parker, Private Peter Gillson and Lance
Corporal John Gillespie were found in
Vietnam
with the help of Operation Aussies Home, and repatriated to
Australia.
The remains of the last missing Australian
soldier, Private
David Fisher,
who fell while suspended below a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF)
helicopter during a ‘hot extraction’ of his SASR patrol in 1969, were
found in August 2008. Private Fisher's remains were returned
to Australia in October 2008.
Two RAAF airmen from 2 Squadron
remain missing in action in
Vietnam.
Flying Officer Michael Herbert and Pilot Officer Robert
Carver were believed to have been killed when their Canberra bomber
disappeared during a night bombing mission in South Vietnam. On 13 November
2008 the government announced that it had begun a comprehensive investigation in an attempt to account for
the missing airmen.
On 21 April 2009, the Minister for Defence Science and Personnel, the Hon. Warren Snowdon, announced that an Australian Defence Investigation Team is confident that it has found the wreckage of the Canberra bomber flown by the two missing airmen. An archaeological dig will be carried out to determine if there are any human remains at the crash site.
Veterans
Australia's
last surviving World War I veteran
John (Jack)
Campbell Ross— born 1899
Jack Ross enlisted in the Australian
Imperial Force in February 1918 as a wireless operator, but the war
ended before he saw active service. On 11 March 2009 he celebrated
his 110th birthday in Bendigo, Victoria, making him Australia's
last remaining World War I serviceman and Australia's oldest man.
The Australian
Government paid tribute to Mr Ross on the occasion of his 110th
birthday.
Veterans farewelled in recent years
World War I
William Evan Crawford Allan—1899 to 2005
'Last
of our Great War fighters fades away' by
Stuart
Rintoul
(Australian, 19 October 2005).
Peter Casserly—1898 to 2005
'Last
survivor of western front carnage dies at 107'—obituary for Peter
Casserly (Sunday Canberra Times, 26 June 2005).
Gilbert Edward Bennion—1898 to 2005
'Veteran
of two wars did not fire a shot in anger' by Greg Stolz (Courier
Mail, 1 February 2005).
Marcel Caux—1899 to 2004
'Au
revoir, Marcel, we hardly knew you' by Tony Stephens (Sydney
Morning Herald, 28 August 2004).
Edward (Ted) David Smout—1898 to 2004
'Last
hurrah for people's hero'—obituary for
Edward
(
Ted
)
David
Smout
by
Emma
Chalmers
and
Brian
Williams
(Courier Mail, 1 July 2004).
End of Section 5
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