Australia’s oldest Gallipoli memorial to move from south parklands to be part of Anzac Centenary Memorial Garden Walk
AUSTRALIA’S oldest memorial to the Gallipoli campaign, known as the “forgotten memorial”, is likely to take pride of place within a multi-million project celebrating the Anzac centenary.
AUSTRALIA’S oldest memorial to the Gallipoli campaign, considered the “forgotten memorial” for its secluded place in the south parklands, will likely be relocated to a prime position within a multi-million project celebrating the Anzac centenary.
Diggers were still fighting on the Gallipoli Peninsula when the Australasian Soldiers Dardanelles Cenotaph was unveiled on September 7, 1915, amid a grove of wattle trees off Sir Lewis Cohen Ave.
The memorial, made from rough hewn granite to symbolise the cliffs of Gallipoli, fell into disrepair before it was moved west in 1940 into Lundie Gardens — the site of a World War I training camp — where it has been largely forgotten since.
The State Government and the Veterans Advisory Council have proposed a relocation to the northern end of the $10 million Anzac Centenary Memorial Garden Walk, which will connect the South Australian National War Memorial on North Tce with the Pathway of Honour near the Torrens Parade Ground.
Veterans’ Affairs Minister Martin Hamilton-Smith said the cenotaph needed “a place of prominence”.
“The Anzac Centenary Memorial Garden Walk will … stand as a lasting tribute to our servicemen and women,” he said.
“The cenotaph is the first significant memorial to those who lost their lives during the Gallipoli campaign and would be a key feature of the $10 million project.”
Veterans Advisory Council chairman Sir Eric Neal has written in support of the move to Adelaide City Council, which owns and maintains the memorial and would have to give approval.
“It was erected and unveiled when troops were still pinned down and suffering heavy casualties on the Gallipoli Peninsula. It is called the Dardanelles Memorial because it was completed just 135 days after the landings at Gallipoli and before the term Anzac had been coined,” he wrote.
There was “very strong support” for the relocation “to provide a focal point and to ensure (it) would no longer be ‘the forgotten memorial’.”
The State RSL also backed the move as a way to raise the profile of the memorial, the existence of which was “almost a secret” despite services being held there over the past few years on the Sunday before the September 7 anniversary. The service this Sunday will be at 10.30am.
Gardens around the cenotaph have been upgraded and lighting installed over the past two years.
A city council staff report supports the relocation and councillors will discuss the issue on Monday. A further report, a formal vote of council and Development Assessment Commission approval would be required.
The Memorial Garden Walk involves shifting the Kintore Ave boundary of Government House 10m to the west, with a new fence to allow views of the grounds. It will be completed by Anzac Day next year.
