www.monumentaustralia.org.au

ANZAC Centenary Wall Print Page Print this page

31-December-2015
31-December-2015

Photographs supplied by John Huth

The ANZAC Centenary Wall commemorates the services of all men and women of the armed forces. It also provides information about the history of the Mothers' Memorial.

The ANZAC Centenary Wall will hold all future plaques approved to be placed in the Mothers' Memorial Garden precinct. Plaques have been located on the Boer War Gates at the Margaret Street entrance to the Gardens in the past, but this area can no longer accommodate any new plaques.

The intent of the ANZAC Centenary Wall is to ensure that the Mothers' Memorial remains the dominant memorial in this war memorial precinct, by providing a location for new plaques. It will also provide a gateway entrance to the Mothers' Memorial precinct from the Toowoomba Central Business District.

Funding for the project was received from the Australian Government’s ANZAC Centenary Local Grants Program and the Queensland Governnment. 

The Centenary of Anzac 2014 to 2018 was an important period of national commemoration for Australia. Marking 100 years since our involvement in World War I, the Anzac Centenary was a time to honour the service and sacrifice of our original ANZACs, and the generations of Australian servicemen and women who have defended our values and freedoms, in wars, conflicts and peace operations throughout a Century of Service.

 

Location

Address:Margaret & Kitchener Streets, Mothers Memorial Gardens, East Creek Park, East Toowoomba, 4350
State:QLD
Area:AUS
GPS Coordinates:Lat: -27.562243
Long: 151.959178
Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate.
View Google Map

Details

Monument Type:Structure
Monument Theme:Conflict
Sub-Theme:Multiple

Dedication

Actual Monument Dedication Date:Thursday 23rd April, 2015
Front Inscription

The Centenary Wall commemorates the service of all men and women of the armed forces and their families who have in the past 100 years upheld the highest tradition of serving Australia and who continue to serve in the future - this service will never be forgotten. 

2014 to 2018 commemorates the Anzac Centenary -marking a 100 years since our nation`s involvement in the First World War. The wall was constructed to mark the occasion of the centenary of the event.

Historically, ANZAC was an acronym devised in early 1915 for the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps to distinguish them apart from the British. After landing at Gallipoli, permission was sought to rename the little bay, where the majority of the corps had come ashore on 25 April 1915, 'ANZAC Cove.'   The word was soon applied to the men of the corps , who became 'ANZACs.' The ANZAC spirit encompassing courage, bravery, sacrifice, mateship, loyalty, selflessness and resilience, continued over the century with each subsequent conflict or war and will no doubt continue into the future with any crisis that we as a nation may face. 

Lest We Forget


 

Right Side Inscription

The Mothers` Memorial was constructed as a symbolic monument dedicated to the memory of those who gave their lives in the Great War (1914 - 1918) for the liberty of Toowoomba.  The vision for this memorial was presented to the city of Toowoomba by prominent women of the community at the time, and therefore was referred to as the `mothers` proposal`.  Funding for the memorial was raised by these women in part by selling bunches of Viola odorata (the Toowoomba Violet). The memorial was erected in the centre of Toowoomba at the intersection of Margaret and Ruthven streets in 1921 and officially unveiled on 28 January 1922. Further panels were added to the memorial in 1955 to record the names of fallen soldiers during the Second World War and the Korean War, and in the 1970s following the Vietnam conflict.

Lest We Forget

Mothers` Memorial Gardens

The Mothers` Memorial Gardens : From the mid 1960s attempts to move the memorial out of the growing urban centre of Toowoomba were met with fierce opposition each time. The Mothers` Memorial was eventually moved to its current location in East Creek Park in October 1985, `to enable the remembrance of loved ones in a reflective and suitable setting`. This location, now known as the Mothers` Memorial Gardens, offers a place where the
memorial can be observed in a peaceful environment.

Source: MA
Monument details supplied by Monument Australia - www.monumentaustralia.org.au