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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