Anzac Parade Memorials
Walkers will approach Anzac Parade from the West, having come through the tunnel under Parkes Way and past The Griffin apartments on to Constitution Avenue.
11km, ’21km East’ and 42km walkers will proceed along the western side of Anzac Parade towards the Australian War Memorial. Take time to consider each of the Anzac Parade memorials on both sides of the road:
1. New Zealand Memorial (both sides of Anzac Pde)
2. Boer War Memorial
3. Desert Mounted Corps Memorial
4. Australian Vietnam Forces National Memorial
5. Australian National Korean War Memorial
6. Australian Army National Memorial
7. Australian Hellenic Memorial
Having crossed Limestone Ave near the Australian Hellenic Memorial, walkers will again cross Limestone Ave near the Kemal Ataturk Memorial and proceed down the eastern side of Anzac Parade past the.
8. Kemal Ataturk Memorial
9. Royal Australian Navy Memorial
10. Australian Service Nurses National Memorial
11. Royal Australian Air Force Memorial (RAAF)
All walkers will turn at the RAAF memorial. (You will miss the final two memorials on the eastern side of Anzac Parade):
12. Rats of Tobruk Memorial
13. Australian Peacekeeping Memorial
Participants in the 11km, 21km and 42km walks on Saturday will pass these memorials. Rather than racing head down, take time to reflect on each memorial and the sacrifices that they recognise.
1. New Zealand Memorial (both sides)
The New Zealand Memorial commemorates the unique friendship between New Zealand and Australian people.
The two ‘kete’ (basket handles) on each side of ANZAC Parade express the shared effort needed to achieve common goals in both peace and war and to acknowledge the courage and sacrifice of the servicemen and women of both countries who fought shoulder to shoulder on foreign soil.
The paving patterns upon which the kete handles stand represent the weaving of a basket and express the interweaving of lands, peoples and cultures.
At the centre of the paving on each side is buried soil from Gallipoli, the birthplace of the ANZAC tradition. Inscribed on the paving are the names of the campaigns in which New Zealanders and Australians fought together.
2. Boer War Memorial
Between 1899 and 1902, Australian Colonial forces joined British forces in South Africa, united against the Dutch-Afrikaner settlers known as the Boers. The area had been highly contested since the Napoleonic wars, and when gold was discovered in the 1880’s, hostilities broke out again. Colonial Australians were quick to respond to Britain’s call for assistance, and by the end of the conflict over 23,000 had served.
On 1 January 1901, the formation of the Australian Commonwealth was declared, making this the first conflict in which our nation was involved.
Four horsemen are the centrepiece of the artwork, posed dynamically and as if caught in a moment of the conflict.
This is a popular memorial for walkers to stop and take a photo.
3. Desert Mounted Corps Memorial
This was the first memorial to be constructed on Anzac Parade (in April 1968). It remembers all Australian and New Zealand units and formations that served in Egypt, Palestine and Syria from 1916 to 1918. The monument commemorates the partnership expressed in the word ‘ANZAC’.
The original memorial was suggested after the battle of Romani in August 1916 and was agreed to by the troops. It depicts a mounted Australian Light Horseman defending a New Zealander who stands beside his wounded horse.
In 1917, every serving member of the Desert Mounted Corps, the New Zealand mounted units forming part of the Corps, members of the Australian Flying Corps and the Nursing Services – all then in Egypt or Palestine – donated one day’s pay towards the cost of the memorial.
The original memorial in Port Said, Egypt, was destroyed by Egyptian nationalists during the 1956 Suez crisis. This is the third casting, with the second on Mt Clarence, Albany, WA.
TIP: Take the path that goes through this memorial. Take a moment to admire the significance of the design.
4. Australian Vietnam Forces Memorial
This memorial is dedicated to Australians who served in Vietnam from 1962 to 1973. The ‘wall of words’ highlights the colourful and distinctive language developed there.
A black granite memorial stone carries the badges of the three Armed Forces and a suspended granite ring contains a scroll bearing the names of those Australians who died in the conflict.
The memorial was dedicated on the fifth anniversary of the Welcome Home Parade for veterans. Vietnam Veterans’ Remembrance Day is commemorated on 18 August; the anniversary of the Battle of Long Tan. During this battle, D Company faced a Viet Cong force over 20 times larger than the 108 Australians. D Company became only the second Army unit in Australian military history to be awarded a United States Presidential Unit Citation.
The conifers Abies Koreana (Korean Fir), stand as ‘bookends’ on either side of the memorial.
5. Australian National Korean War Memorial
This memorial commemorates the Australians who died, and those who served in the Korean War. The field of poles represents those who died. The three figures represent the Australian sailors, soldiers and airmen who served.
The boulders, transported from the Imjim River region, and the monotone of materials used recalls the harsh climate and terrain, an enduring memory for veterans.
A focal point is a boulder from a Korean battlefield. The text in Korean script translates as ‘Peace and Independence’. An obelisk commemorates those who died with no known grave. The inscription from the ‘Missing in Action’ section of the United Nations Memorial Cemetery in Pusan links this to the burial place of those Australians who died in the Korean War.
Seven cylindrical pillars recall the seven major conflicts in which the Australian Army has been involved in the twentieth century. The pillars stand in water, reminding the visitor of the long sea journeys involved in all Australian campaigns.
6. Australian Army National Memorial
This memorial is dedicated to the ‘diggers’ of the Australian Army who fought on the African Veldt, in the trenches of France, in the Western Desert and in the jungles of the Pacific and South East Asia.
Since the unified Australian Army was formed in 1901, ’diggers’ have taken part in many conflicts, including two world wars. The sculpture is entitled ‘Every Mother’s Son’ because ‘the Army is about people – about infantrymen who can be anyone’s sons, husbands, fathers or brothers’.
The central focus of the memorial is two bronze figures representing Australian soldiers facing east towards the rising sun. The figures stand on a raised podium paved in a radial pattern, which refers to the Army insignia.
TIP: To gain the optimum effect, the Australian Hellenic Memorial should be approached from the back as if entering an amphitheatre.
7. Australian Hellenic Memorial
While the Anzac legend has its roots in the First World War, there was only one ANZAC unit formed during the Second World War and it saw action in Greece.
The name ‘Hellenic’ is used instead of ‘Greek’ to ensure all the Greek battles that were fought, not just those on the Greek mainland, are represented. The spear in the paving points to the Thermopylae Line; an historic pass where the Spartans resisted the Persians, the Greeks held off the Gauls and the Anzacs and British troops resisted a German advance.
In each case, a small force held the pass against overwhelming odds. The jagged flint stone rock outcrop symbolises the terrain over which our troops fought. The mosaic is a relief map of the Greek Islands.
Centrally placed on the wall is a bronze likeness of Ataturk, a gift from the Turkish Government.
8. Kemal Ataturk Memorial
This memorial is part of an agreement by the Australian and Turkish governments on commemorative gestures to acknowledge the 70th anniversary of the Gallipoli landing.
Kemal Ataturk commanded the Turkish forces at Gallipoli and later became the founder and first president of modern Turkey. This memorial honours him, as well as the heroism and sacrifice of both the Anzac and Turkish troops who took part in the bitterly fought campaign.
Soil from Anzac Cove in Turkey was placed beneath the dedication plaque. Surrounding the memorial are pine trees Pinus halepensis grown from seed collected from the landmark ‘lone pine’ at Gallipoli.
The crescent-shaped wall was inspired by the symbol of the crescent and five-pointed star on the Turkish flag.
TIP: Walk around the sculpture and listen to the water. 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 conning tower and the general turbulence created by a ship’s passage.
9. Royal Australian Navy Memorial
This memorial is also known as ‘Sailors and Ships’. It is dedicated to the naval servicemen and women who from colonial days have created the naval traditions of Australia, and honours those who have died and those who continue to serve.
The sculpture expresses the constant vigilance and preparedness required of Navy personnel.
The geometric shapes symbolise a ship and the emerging figures portray a range of ranks and activities.
Horizontal and nurturing in character, artist Robin Moorehouse drew inspiration from accounts of dying soldiers in the First World War that just wanted to be held by nurses.
10. Australian Service Nurses National Memorial
This memorial commemorates those Australian Service Nurses who died and honours those who served and suffered in war since 1899.
The first army nursing service was raised in New South Wales in 1899, and left to serve during the Boer War in early 1900. During the First World War, about 2,300 members of the Australian Army Nurses served in most theatres of war, including Gallipoli and isolated posts in India, in appalling conditions and under the threat of death.
In the Second World War, nearly 3,500 Army, Navy and Airforce nurses served, facing bombardment, capture, torture and death.
NOTE: This is the last memorial you will pass on the Aussie Peace Walk. You will turn left at this memorial and head east through the area known as C5.
11. Royal Australian Air Force Memorial
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 the Australian Flying Corps.
It was the second memorial to be erected on Anzac Parade and was unveiled in 1973 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the formation of the RAAF.
The original sculpture, by Inge King, was enhanced in 2002 by three polished granite walls. The artwork depicts the dedication and valour of serving members and traces major episodes of conflict from 1915 to the present day.
The RAAF is one of the world’s oldest independent air forces, (established in 1921). Australian pilots were on active service in 1914 in New Guinea and in 1915 the Australian Flying Corps were fighting in Mesopotamia (Iraq).
12. Rats of Tobruk Memorial
This memorial commemorates the historic siege of Tobruk, Libya, from April to December 1941 where Australians, British, Indian, Czechoslovakian, Polish and other allied troops held off a larger German force.
Of the garrison of 22,000 about 14,000 were Australian. The name derives from German radio propagandist, Lord Haw Haw, who referred to the troops as ‘rats who would be smoked out of their holes’. The Australians made this name their own.
The memorial is based on the one in the Tobruk War Cemetery, built by Royal Australian Engineers during the siege. That memorial has since been destroyed.
The original marble inscription stone was brought back to Australia after the war and is incorporated in the obelisk. The Eternal Flame was installed in 1984.
13. Australian Peacekeeping Memorial
This memorial commemorates the significant contribution made ‘in the service of peace’ by over 80,000 Australian peacekeepers – military, police and civilian – to over 60 United Nations and other international peacekeeping missions since 1947.
The design includes a Commemorative Beam that will list all Australian peacekeeping missions. The beam sits at the back of a commemorative courtyard that includes sentiments and phrases describing the characteristics of peacekeeping operations.
This courtyard is reached through a centrally lit passage between two tall, black monoliths. These represent the opposing factions and the passageway between is lit to reflect the peacekeepers who strive to bring these factions together.
Flags, symbols and explanatory plaques within the memorial explain and identify the contributors and characteristics of Australian peacekeeping—past, present and future.
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