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Defence of Australia MemorialPrint Page Print this page

24-September-2012 (Graeme Saunders)
24-September-2012 (Graeme Saunders)

Photographs supplied by Graeme Saunders / Neil Follett

The memorial commemorates those involved in the defence of Australia during World War Two.

The memorial also contains two time capsules which were dedicated on the 25th August 2010. The time capsules contain the names of diggers who were formerly part of the Geelong Road Avenue of Honour which was planted in 1947 to commemorate men and women  who gave their lives for Australia in World Wars One and Two.

Most of the avenue was demolished in the 1960s when Geelong Rd was widened. More than 100 plaques are believed to be buried beneath the road while hundreds were torn out with some later salvaged from a rubbish tip. Another eight were found in 2009 in the backyard of a dilapidated council-owned property at Yarraville. The remaining 225 plaques were relocated to a memorial garden at Footscray Park in 2012.​

The defence of Australia was a struggle never before envisaged in this country but yet much of it still remains unknown. It was a struggle that stretched our national resources to the limit; which saw the bombing of mainland Australia; the attack by midget submarines on Sydney Harbour; and raised the spectre of the threat of a possible invasion through Papua New Guinea.

Location

Address:Melbourne Road & Mary Street, Veterans Garden of Remembrance, Spotswood, 3015
State:VIC
Area:AUS
GPS Coordinates:Lat: -37.828069
Long: 144.880792
Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate.
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Details

Monument Type:Monument
Monument Theme:Conflict
Sub-Theme:WW2
Actual Event Start Date:19-February-1942
Actual Event End Date:15-August-1945

Dedication

Front Inscription

Lest We Forget

This memorial is dedicated to all who served in defence of Australia

19 February 1942 to 15 August 1945

 

Back Inscription

In honour of all the community volunteers who contributed to the defence of Australia

19 February 1942 to 15 August 1945

 

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