War Memorial design competion

[capt_starlight]

From here ==> http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/02/18/2165689.htm

 

Designers around the world have been invited to enter a competition to plan two new war memorials for Canberra.

 

Governer-General Major General Michael Jeffery launched the international competition in Canberra this morning.

 

The monuments will be built by the shore of Lake Burley Griffin at the foot of Anzac Parade, to honour Australians who served during World War I and II.

 

There are a number of memorials and monuments in the national capital but none are dedicated solely to the major conflicts in which more than 100,000 men and women died.

 

Major General Jeffery says the new monuments will fill the void.

 

"As we look down Anzac Parade, we can see many other memorials that are dedicated to a variety of campaigns. They're dedicated to each of the single services, the Navy, Army and Air Force, to particular elements of a service like nursing, to allies, to a former foe in one case - Turkey - and to specific conflicts, namely Korea and Vietnam," he said.

 

"But there's no national memorial anywhere which is specifically dedicated to World War I or to World War II.

 

"It's a major omission as these two conflicts have huge national significance. Not only do they account for over 101,000 of the 103,000 who have given their lives in wartime military service, but they both had a profound impact on our national character and indeed our identity."

 

Vice-chairman of the Memorials' Development Committee Colonel Clive Badelow says it is a chance to pay tribute.

 

"Most people mistakenly believe that the Australian War Memorial is in fact a memorial to World War I and World War II and going back to its origins, yes it was," he said.

 

"But they'd be unaware that in 1952, the charter for the Australian War Memorial was changed to bring that as a memorial to all wars."

 

Funding

 

National head of the RSL Major General Bill Crews will oversee the jury which will select four finalists.

 

Each finalist will be given $15,000 to develop a scale model of their entry, while the eventual winner will receive a prize of $15,000.

 

Mr Badelow says they have funding for the design competition but still have to raise money to build the monuments.

 

"We've received a grant from the Government for $200,000 to launch this particular design competition," he said.

 

"From there we hope to raise the required funds for the winning model, you've got to bear in mind at this point in time we don't know what the winning design is.

 

"Indicatively, and I stress that, indicatively we believe the cost will be around somewhere in the order of $10 million to $12 million.

 

"The majority of those funds will certainly have to be stumped up from the Australian public, from industry at large and from those benefactors that see some worthwhile focus and outcome in this particular project."

 

The competition closes on April 14 and the design winner will be announced on July 4.

 

The committee hopes the memorials will be built next year.

 

From the description they will be at the base of Anzac Parade closest to Lake Burley Griffin - the first (or last depending on where you come from) position on the Parade for Memorials - between Parkes Way and the shore. From Parliament House (either one) you would look across the Lake see the new memorials flanking the Parade and up until the eyes light upon the Australian War Memorial.....

[KingSargent]

From here ==> http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/02/18/2165689.htm

From the description they will be at the base of Anzac Parade closest to Lake Burley Griffin - the first (or last depending on where you come from) position on the Parade for Memorials - between Parkes Way and the shore. From Parliament House (either one) you would look across the Lake see the new memorials flanking the Parade and up until the eyes light upon the Australian War Memorial.....

About Phriggin' Time! Getting close to the century mark on the WW1 Memorial. No surviving vets will see it. Damn few WW2 vets will be left by the time the Memorial is done.

[Yama]

This is what they should take example of:

 

 

But more likely, winner will be some abstract piece of junk...

Edited February 18, 2008 by Yama

[cbo]

About Phriggin' Time! Getting close to the century mark on the WW1 Memorial. No surviving vets will see it. Damn few WW2 vets will be left by the time the Memorial is done.

 

As I understand it, Australian War Memorial was concieved as a WWI memorial when commissioned after WWI, but was not finished until 1941, and then also included WWII. So until the decision to make it a general war memorial in 1952, it was a WWI/WWII memorial that veterans of both conflics could see. And WWI and WWII were still comemorated in that memorial. It is not like the vets or the dead were forgotten or anything.

 

That said, since the original WWI memorial have turned into something else, then creating new WWI and WWII memorials makes sense. I wonder if it has been considered to turn the old memorial back to a WWI/WWII memorial? It seems to look the part of a war memorial of the interwar period, whereas a modern one might be something different all together - perhaps better suited as the general Australian War Memorial?

 

cbo

[Archie Pellagio]

I think there should be a "forgotten wars" memorial more than a WWI / WWII memorial.

 

The veterans of those wars (particuarly the 1st) have been lionized beyond reality as part of a national creation myth.

The AWM covers their plight well.

 

Others who died in Korea, Malaya, Vietnam and more are barely remembered.

Edited February 19, 2008 by Luke_Yaxley

[capt_starlight]

I think there should be a "forgotten wars" memorial more than a WWI / WWII memorial.

 

The veterans of those wars (particuarly the 1st) have been lionized beyond reality as part of a national creation myth.

The AWM covers their plight well.

 

Others who died in Korea, Malaya, Vietnam and more are barely remembered.

 

Each has a memorial on Anzac Parade (where these are to go).

 

Served with veterans and know many more of each of these conflicts. I remember them.....

[Archie Pellagio]

Each has a memorial on Anzac Parade (where these are to go).

 

Served with veterans and know many more of each of these conflicts. I remember them.....

 

Well the second part is natural, given all the WWI vets have passed, and WWII vets are dropping like flies.

[capt_starlight]

Well the second part is natural, given all the WWI vets have passed, and WWII vets are dropping like flies.

 

One of my early jobs was assisting the claims of veterans from all the wars (for DVA).... I got to know quite a few before they "passed in their buckets and spades" - at one stage it seemed like a funeral a week.

 

And my uncles and aunts (6 from 8) and mother and father were all "init" for WW2 including one POW(J) and one POW(E) - just mother left now.

 

They went with songs to the battle, they were young,

Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.

They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted;

They fell with their faces to the foe.

 

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:

Age shall not weary them, nor the years contemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning

We will remember them.

 

(All my nephews and nieces attend dawn service - they shall inherit the tradition)

Edited February 19, 2008 by capt_starlight