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ANZAC Parade Memorials Canberra

Boer War Memorial ANZAC Parade Canberra

ANZAC Parade Memorials Canberra

Leading up to the Australian War Memorial, ANZAC Parade in Canberra contains memorials honouring those who served in Australia’s armed services. The best way to see all of the monuments is to walk the length of the Parade. We parked in the Constitution Avenue car park, so that we could walk up one side and back the other.

Taking time to see each memorial and taking photos, the walk took around 30 minutes each side. We broke the walk in two, visiting the War Memorial in between. At this point we also had morning tea at Poppy’s Café.

New Zealand Memorial

The New Zealand Memorial reflect the unique friendship between New Zealand and Australian people. The two kete or basket handles express the shared effort needed to achieve common goals in both peace and war. They also acknowledge the courage and sacrifice of the servicemen and women of both countries who fought shoulder to shoulder on foreign soil.

Boer War Memorial

This is a remarkably realistic and life-like memorial of four horse-mounted troopers. Dedicated to Australia’s first war fought as a nation, which saw over 16,000 men serve during the Second Boer War from 1889 to 1903. Although made of bronze, the colouring used highlights the colours of the horses and uniforms. This was our favourite memorial because of the life like sculptures.

Desert Mounted Corps Memorial

The first memorial to be constructed on ANZAC Parade, The Desert Mounted Corps Memorial commemorates all the Australian Mounted Divisions. These include the Australian Flying Corps and every other Australian and New Zealand unit and formation that served in Egypt, Palestine and Syria from 1916 to 1918.

It depicts a mounted Australian Light Horseman defending a New Zealander who stands beside his wounded horse.

The original Memorial was in Port Said, Egypt. However, Egyptian nationalists destroyed it during the 1956 Suez crisis. Created by Melbourne sculptor, Ray Ewers OAM it is a recreation of the original which was by C. Webb Gilbert.

Australia Vietnam Forces National Memorial

Dedicated to all those who served in Vietnam, this memorial features three large stelae with engraving representing the war. The central engraving is of a helicopter transporting troops while another consists of words from soldiers describing the war.

Australian National Korean War Memorial

The Australian National Korean War Memorial commemorates the Australian’s would served and those who died during the Korean War. The stainless steel poles represent those who were killed, while the three figures represent the soldiers, sailors and airmen who served. There are several boulders placed at the memorial, which were sourced from Korean battlefields.

Hanging above the memorial, a stone halo contains the names of all the service personnel who died during the war.

Australian Army Memorial Canberra

This memorial recognises all conflicts involving Australian soldiers since the Second Boer War.

Australian Hellenic War Memorial

Commemorating the lives lost during the defence of Greece and Crete during World War Two, this memorial looks like a Greek amphitheatre. The Doric column symbolises the rise of civilisation, while the rusted beams illustrate the destruction of war.

Kemal Ataturk Memorial

This memorial is named after Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (1881–1938) who, as a Lieutenant Colonel, commanded the Ottoman 19th Infantry Division when it resisted the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) at Arı Burnu on the Gallipoli peninsula in 1915 during World War I. He went on to be the founder of the Republic of Turkey and its first president, and received the honorific Atatürk (“Father of the Turks”) by the Turkish parliament.

It is the only memorial on ANZAC Parade dedicated to an enemy commander.

An inscription on the memorial, attributed to Atatürk, pays tribute to his former foes and reflects his understanding of the cost of war:

“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 the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side here in this country of ours… You the mothers who sent their sons from far away 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.”

The quote honours all former enemy soldiers who have died in Turkey.

Royal Australian Navy Memorial

The Royal Australian Navy Memorial honours those who have as well as those who still serve in the Australian Navy. The figures show sailors performing different duties and the geometric shapes represent different parts of a ship.

The flowing water adds to the whole navy theme, because different areas have different sounds. The front areas hisses, like the water at the bow of a ship, while the rear part throbs like a propeller.

Australian Service Nurses National Memorial

Commemorating all service nurses who died and those who suffered through war, the Australian Service Nurses National Memorial is a flowing blue cast glass sculpture. Covered in etched writing from diaries – in the original handwriting and photos, it illustrates the life and danger wartime nurses endured.

Several of the panels remain blank, symbolizing the inconclusive nature of this type of memorial.

Royal Australian Air Force Memorial

This memorial honours the service and sacrifice of the men and women of the Royal Australian Air Force and the Australian Flying Corps. Representing a wing the memorial is symbolic of flight, but we found this too abstract. This was one of the harder to understand sculptures, without researching its meaning.

Rats of Tobruk Memorial

Commemorating the Siege of Tobruk during the North African campaign of the Second World War Two, the memorial honours the 14,000 Australian and 8,000 Allied troops who defended the town for 241 days. Named the rats as a derogatory term by German propaganda, the defenders took on the name as a badge of honour. They successfully held of 37,000 German and Italian troops until relieved by the advancing Allied 8th Army.

The original memorial located in the Tobruk War Cemetery was destroyed. However, the inscription stone was retrieved and is now incorporated into this memorial. The twisting bronze sculpture represents the eternal flame.

Australian Peacekeeping Memorial

Since 1947 more than 80,000 military, police and civilian peacekeepers have served in 62 peacekeeping missions. This memorial commemorates their service.

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Bass Point Reserve

Bushranger Bay Bass Point

Bass Point Reserve

A place of significant cultural value, Bass Point Reserve is Heritage Listed, due to extensive Aboriginal and Colonial use of the area. Archaeological evidence indicates that the Elouera people lived here at least 20,000 years ago. Colonial settlers arrived 1803, although European explorers had passed through before this. Settled by cedar cutters and graziers, much of the area was cleared. Land clearing, disease and hostility by Europeans resulted in the collapse of the Aboriginal population.

The Gravel Loader

One of the first sites you see at Bass Point is the gravel loader which services the local basalt quarry. It forms an interesting contrast to the other more natural heritage areas because of its industrial use.

Bass Point

Walking through the Reserve, we saw some small lizards, but no other wildlife, although larger native animals inhabit the area. The eroded basalt on the shore has places where colourful orange algae grow, adding some colour to the otherwise dull rocks.

US Cities Service Boston & 6th Machine Gun Battalion Memorial

On 16 May 1943, the US oil tanker US Cities Service Boston grounded here during a storm. Australian soldiers from the 6th Australian Machine Gun Battalion camping nearby assisted in the rescue of the 62 crew on board. All lives from the Boston were saved but four Australian soldiers perished in the rescue. Each year, a remembrance service commemorates the loss.

Bushrangers Bay

At the end of Bass Point Tourist Road is a small carpark that services Bushrangers Bay. This beautiful bay has vegetation growing down to the water line. A well-maintained wooden walkway provides access down to the pebble beach.

A viewing platform designed to provide views over the bay sits above and to the left of the steps but was overgrown when we visited. This obscured what would otherwise have been a great view.

Bushrangers Bay is a Marine Reserve, so fishing or removing anything from the area is prohibited.

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Lawrence Hargrave Memorial

Lawrence Hargreaves Memorial

Lawrence Hargrave Memorial

Located at Bald Hill is a memorial to British-born Australian engineer, explorer, astronomer, inventor and aeronautical pioneer Lawrence Hargrave. Associated with Hargrave’s first attempt to fly, Bald Hill is the perfect place to remember his achievements, as well as providing fantastic views.

On November 12, 1894, Hargrave linked four of his box-kites together, added a sling seat, and flew approximately 5 metres. By demonstrating a safe and stable flying machine, Hargrave opened the door to other inventors and pioneers. The Hargrave-designed box kite, with its improved lift-to-drag ratio, was to provide the wing model of the first generation of European and American aeroplanes.

Hargrave has two memorials here, one at each end of the car park. The primary one, is at the southern end, which has relief of him carrying a model of his box-kite. At the north end a memorial wall lists his achievements. The carpark itself has plenty of parking available, while toilets are available at the north end.

Depicted on the old style $20 note, Hargrave’s importance to aviation was on display to Australians from 1966 to 1994, when it was replaced.

While visiting the memorials, check out the amazing views, which are amazing. This is one of the best places to admire the coast around Wollongong. The views were great, despite the rainy day we had.

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