Sunday is a day of solemn ceremonies of remembrance, gratitude and pride for all our men and women who have fought and died in all wars.
ANZAC Day was established that all generations would remember our fellow Australians, who along with New Zealander Corps soldiers, landed on the Gallipoli Peninsula in Turkey early on the morning of 25 April 1915 during the First World War (1914-1918).
I will be leading the ANZAC Day Service this Sunday 25 April at the Hobart War Memorial (Cenotaph), and on reflecting about this Service I was intrigued by the rich history of the memorial and the Cenotaph.
The site of the Cenotaph was selected for its prominence both to the city and the River Derwent.
The Cenotaph was designed by Hobart architects, Hutchison and Walker, whose elegant design won first prize in a public competition conducted in early 1923. Their design was for a 65 feet (19.8m) high obelisk, but it was decided to increase the height of the monument by 10 feet (3.05m).
This Memorial, which replaces a wooden structure, was unveiled on 13 December 1925 and initially commemorated those Tasmanians who served in the Great War.
The stepped plinth of the monument, approximately 8 metres square, is bluestone and the obelisk itself is constructed of exfoliated (unpolished) light grey granite. The shaft of the obelisk is tapered and has chamfered edges. The capping is stepped, and the apex is finished with a shallow pyramidal cap. Near the top, apertures are cut in each face, in the form of Latin (Christian) crosses, and these are glazed with red coloured opaque glass and back illuminated.
A casket of solid zinc, containing the names of 522 Tasmanians who died in the Great War, was placed in the base of the Memorial on ANZAC Day 1925. No individual names are recorded on the exterior of the Cenotaph.
On each of the four faces of the obelisk base are the crests of service organizations, cast in bronze:
Royal Australian Air Force, Royal Australian Navy, Australian Commonwealth Military Forces and Royal Australian Army Nursing Corps (added in 1991).
Lest We Forget
Last year I received the best Aussie affirmation on ANZAC Day!
