Lemnos Gallipoli MemorialPrint Page

The sculpture commemorates the nurses and soldiers who served on the Greek Island of Lemnos during the Gallipoli campaign in 1915 during World War One, and the role of Lemnos in the campaign. It was erected by the Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee on 8th August 2015, which was the centenary of the arrival of the Australian nurses on Lemnos during the Gallipoli campaign. 

The sculpture consists of two statues  - one of a nurse and one of a sick or wounded soldier – standing and resting on a stone plinth, that has been etched with the names of villages on Lemnos visited by the ANZACs in 1915 as well as Lemnos and Gallipoli, in Greek and in English. The sculpture is complemented by an information board and flagpoles, the latter for commemorative events.  The memorial is the site of the annual Lemnos Gallipoli commemorative service conducted by the Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee every August.

The sculpture was designed and created by Mr Peter Corlett, OAM, one of Australia’s most well-respected commemorative sculptors. Committee Secretary and historian, Mr Jim Claven, shared with Peter the results of his research into the Lemnos link to ANZAC, the role of Australia’s nurses and their hospitals during the Gallipoli campaign, documented in the hundreds of photographs and writings of the ANZACs themselves. Peter Corlett was able to combine these key features of Lemnos’ ANZAC link, with his appreciation of classical Greek sculpture and mythology, to create the sculpture that speaks of this vital Hellenic connection to Australia’s Gallipoli story.  The sculptures’ green hue echo’s classical sculpture, so that plinth is a reminder of the stones of Lemnos’ ancient amphitheatre at Hephaestia.

The location of the memorial in Albert Park, was subsequently honored with its official re-naming as Lemnos Square by the City of Port Phillip in May 2017. The location was chosen due to its proximity to Princes Pier, where the many of the ANZACs departed for Lemnos and Gallipoli.  Nearly 5,000 soldiers and nurses who served in World War One came from Port Phillip. Many of these served at Gallipoli and would have known Lemnos.  For example, Albert Park’s Lieutenant Colonel Arthur Mitchell Wilson, St Kilda builder’s labourer Trooper Albert Bent, electrician Corporal George Knight  and Elwood’s Nurse Clarice Daley who both served at the 3rd Australian General Hospital. Also, Matron Grace Wilson, who returned from the war to become Matron of the local hospital, the Alfred. 

At the unveiling in August 2015, over 400 people attended including many diplomatic, government and service organisation representatives. Many veteran descendents attended the unveiling, Dr David Weedon, a descendent of Matron Grace Wilson, Ms Judith Gunnarsson, the daughter of Nurse Evelyn Hutt, who served with Grace Wilson at the 3rd Australian General Hospital on Lemnos, Ms Helen O’Connor, a descendent of St Kilda’s Trooper Albert Bent, Nick Dwyer, a descendent of Grace Wilson, and the Reverend Richard Hall, a descendent of the families of Nurse Clarice Daley and Sergeant Ernest Lawrence, who were famously married on Lemnos during the Gallipoli campaign.

A feature of the unveiling were performances by three dance Greek community groups – the Hellenic Dance Group, the Cretan Brotherhood Dance Group and the Pontiaki Estia Melbourne Victoria Dance Group. These traditional performances were in honour of the Greek contribution to ANZAC by the Lemnians who supported the ANZACs on Lemnos, by the Cretan and Asia Minor volunteers – as well as Private Peter Rados – who fought alongside their ANZAC allies.

It was erected with the support from the local Greek community, both from organisations and individuals including the Lemnian Community of Victoria, the Hellenic RSL Sub-Branch, the Pontiaki Estia, Coburg's Marble Centre Exclusive, as well as Terry Paule and Nick and Sophie Kambouris. 

 

Location

Address:	Foote & Graham Streets, Lemnos Square, Albert Park, Albert Park , 3206
State:	VIC
Area:	AUS
GPS Coordinates:	Lat: -37.843932 Long: 144.947058 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate.

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Details

Monument Type:	Sculpture
Monument Theme:	Conflict
Sub-Theme:	WW1
Actual Event Start Date:	04-August-1914
Actual Event End Date:	28-June-1919
Artist:	Peter Corlett (Melbourne, VIC)
Monument Manufacturer:	Meridian Sculpture
Link:	https://lemnosgallipolicc.blogspot.…

Dedication

Actual Monument Dedication Date:	Saturday 8th August, 2015

Source: MA