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Coromandel Valley War Memorial GardensPrint Page Print this page

05-October-2013
05-October-2013

Photographs supplied by Bryan Cole

The gardens commemorate those who have served in the various conflicts in which Australia has been involved.

A number of plaques leading to the World War One memorial commemorate servicemen from the area who served in both World Wars.

Location

Address:Main Road, Weymouth Recreation Grounds, Coromandel Valley, 5051
State:SA
Area:AUS
GPS Coordinates:Lat: -35.051663
Long: 138.620341
Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate.
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Details

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

Dedication

Actual Monument Dedication Date:Sunday 28th May, 2000
Front Inscription

Coromandel Valley
War Memorial Gardens

These war memorial gardens were established by the City of Onkaparinga in 2000 and officially opened by Mayor Ray Gilbert on the 28th of May 2000.

In 2000 the monument was restored and moved 1000 metres north of its original location.

The monument was first established in its original location on the 28th May 1921. It is a memorial to the thirty-two soldiers who fought in World War 1, and particularly to the nine who died. So strong was the communal sense of loss, grief and pride at that time, that the fifty households of the Valley contributed £268, an average of £5 each - more than the average wage for two weeks - in order to build it.

These gardens have been developed in recognition of the significant contribution of those who fought and served in World War 1 and subsequent Wars.

Plaque :

Honour Roll
Enlistments from Coromandel Valley S. A. 
1939 - 1945
[ Names ]

Plaque :

Australia's war dead from the names recorded on the National Roll of Honour at the Australian War Memorial

Boer War 1899 - 1902   606
Boxer Rebellion 1900 - 1901  6
World War 1 1914 - 1918  61,919
World War 2 1939 - 1945  39,366
Korean War 1950 - 1953  339
Malayan Emergency 1950 - 1960  36
Indonesian Confrontation 1963 - 1966  15
Vietnam War 1962 - 1973  520

Plaque : 

"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 faraway 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."
Ataturk, 1934

At ANZAC Cove stands the Turkish monument to their former enemies.  These words feature on the stone monolith. They were delivered by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (the first President of Turkey and a former Turkish Army Commander at Gallipoli to the first visitors from Australia, New Zealand and Britain in 1934

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