OUTCOME 3 - COMMEMORATIONS

• Description
• Output 3.1 - Commemorative activities
  • National days of remembrance
  • Memorials
  • Significant events
  • Education
  • Community awareness
• Output 3.2 - War Graves
  • Important documents
  • Structure
  • Commemoration
  • Construction and management of memorials
  • Overseas commitments

The service and sacrifice of men and women who served Australia and its allies in war, defence and peacekeeping services are acknowledged and commemorated.

Description

Through the Department of Veterans' Affairs, Australia honours its commitment to acknowledge and commemorate the service and sacrifice of Australians in wars, defence and peacekeeping services. The Department works to ensure that the legacy of Australia's wartime heritage is preserved and passed on to new generations.

This outcome is delivered through two outputs:

3.1 - Commemorative activities - administered by the Department's Commemorations Branch; and
3.2 - War Graves - administered by the Office of Australian War Graves within DVA.

Table 9: Outcome 3 resources summary

Output 3.1 - Commemorative activities

Description

The Department administers the Government's Their Service - Our Heritage commemorative program, with the aim of promoting the ongoing recognition of Australia's servicemen and women and their contribution to the nation during the past century. The program supports a range of initiatives and projects, leading to a better understanding of Australia's wartime heritage and the service of its veterans, and greater community participation in commemorative activities. The program incorporates the following key elements:

• national days of remembrance;
  
• memorials;
  
• significant events;
  
• education; and
  
• community awareness.

National days of remembrance

The Department supports a range of initiatives to commemorate events of national and military significance from all wars and conflicts. Major activities include promotion and support for the observance of Anzac Day and Remembrance Day.

Anzac Day

The past decade has seen a resurgence in community interest in Australia's wartime heritage. Increasing numbers of people, particularly young Australians, are attending services on Anzac Day and Remembrance Day.

This year, between 12 000 and 15 000 people attended the Dawn Service at the Anzac Commemorative Site in the Gallipoli International Peace Park. A pictorial booklet titled North Beach Gallipoli 1915 was produced by the Department to commemorate Australia's Centenary of Federation.

The Prime Minister, John Howard, attended the national Anzac Day ceremony at the Australian War Memorial and the Governor General attended a Dawn Service in Dili, East Timor.

Anzac Day was commemorated in more than 40 countries around the world.

Remembrance Day

The Department assisted with arrangements to bring a representative group of Torres Strait Islander veterans to Canberra to attend the 2000 Remembrance Day service at the Australian War Memorial (AWM). The veterans were guests of honour at the service and tours of the AWM and Canberra were arranged for them.

Memorials

Shrine of Remembrance, Melbourne

The Department is responsible for administering a $5 million Federation Fund grant for the redevelopment of the undercroft of the Shrine of Remembrance, Melbourne. The redevelopment will include gallery space, an education centre and a display area. It is due to be completed by Anzac Day 2002.

New Zealand Memorial dedication

The Prime Ministers of Australia and New Zealand along with the Minister for Veterans' Affairs attended the dedication of the New Zealand Memorial on Anzac Parade on 24 April 2001. The Department was represented on the New Zealand Memorial Planning Committee for the dedication and provided Their Service - Our Heritage funding towards the ceremony and the production of the dedication Order of Service and the ecumenical service booklets.

Hellenic Australian Memorial, Crete

The Minister for Veterans' Affairs unveiled the Hellenic Australian Memorial at Rethymno on Crete on 19 May 2001, in honour of the Australian and Greek soldiers who fought during the Battle of Crete in 1941. The focal point of the memorial is a circular emblem decorated with the floral emblems of Australia and Greece, the wattle and the olive, on the central pillar. The surrounding landscaped grounds feature a series of information panels in Greek and English to explain the history of the Greece and Crete campaigns.

Australian Hellenic Memorial, Melbourne

A grant of $11 000 was provided for the establishment of a memorial in the Domain, Melbourne, near the Shrine of Remembrance. The Minister approved an additional grant of $19 000 in July 2001. The Minister will unveil the Memorial on 2 September 2001.

Field Marshal Sir Thomas Blamey Square, Canberra

Sir Thomas Blamey Square, Canberra, was renamed Field Marshal Sir Thomas Blamey Square on 27 May 2001. The renaming of the square provided full recognition of Sir Thomas Blamey's status as the only Australian soldier to achieve the rank of Field Marshal. Assistance for the event was provided under the Their Service - Our Heritage commemorative program. A photographic essay about the service life of Field Marshal Sir Thomas Albert Blamey GBE KCB DSO ED was produced as a commemorative booklet for the occasion.

Air Force memorials

The Minister approved $250 000 towards the redevelopment of the Royal Australian Air Force Memorial on Anzac Parade in Canberra. The memorial is dedicated to the service of tens of thousands of Air Force personnel and honours the memory of those who have given their lives in that service. The Minister also approved $100 000 towards a Bomber Command Memorial, to be located within the precincts of the Australian War Memorial in Canberra. This memorial will be dedicated to those who gave their lives while serving with Bomber Command in the United Kingdom during World War II.

Regional War Memorials Project

Their Service - Our Heritage provides assistance through the Regional War Memorials Project (RWMP) for the restoration or development of war memorials that serve as the community focus for remembrance services. The RWMP assists communities in all States, particularly in regional and remote areas. Communities around Australia received 382 RWMP grants totalling $805 722 in 2000-01.

Significant events

The Department promotes key national commemorative events and anniversaries and ensures that commemorative milestones receive due recognition.

Sydney Olympics and Paralympics

The Minister hosted three groups of veterans in the Commonwealth Government box during the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games in September and October. Representative veterans from all wars and conflicts since World War I, all States and Territories and each of the Services attended gymnastics and track and field events.

HMAS Sheean commissioning

The Royal Australian Navy's Collins class submarines, HMAS Sheean and HMAS Dechaineux, were commissioned in Western Australia on 23 February 2001. DVA arranged, on behalf of the Department of Defence, for six surviving shipmates of Ordinary Seaman Edward Sheean to attend the commissioning. Teddy Sheean died in 1942 defending HMAS Armidale and is the first junior sailor to have a RAN ship named in his honour. Representatives of Captain Emile Dechaineux's former shipmates also attended the ceremony. Captain Dechaineux, commanding HMAS Australia, was killed in 1944 during the Battle of Leyte Gulf, when Australia became the first ship to suffer a kamikaze attack.

Korea commemorative mission

In April 2001, at the invitation of the Korean Government, the Minister led a mission of 32 veterans and war widows to Korea to take part in activities to mark the 50th anniversary of the Korean War. The Opposition spokesman on Veterans' Affairs, Senator Chris Schacht, accompanied the mission party at the Minister's invitation. The mission included participation in United Nations and Commonwealth ceremonies at the United Nations Memorial Cemetery in Pusan and an Australian and New Zealand ceremony at Kaypong on the 50th anniversary of the battle of Kapyong. The veteran party also participated in the Anzac Day ceremony at the United Nations Compound in Seoul.

Greece and Crete commemorative mission

During May 2001 the Minister led a commemorative mission to Greece to take part in official Greek commemorations to mark the 60th anniversary of the Battles of Greece and Crete. The representative group of 22 veterans and war widows took part in a range of ceremonies on the Greek mainland and the island of Crete. Senator Schacht again accompanied the mission party at the Minister's invitation. The highlight of the mission was the dedication of the new Hellenic Australian Memorial at Rethymno.

Australians at War

The documentary series Australians at War was broadcast by ABC Television over eight weeks from Anzac Day 2001. The Federal Government funded the $5m series as a Centenary of Federation gift to the nation. The series covered experiences of Australians during times of war and conflict during the past 100 years, and how these have helped shape the nation.

Australians at War was produced for the Department, in cooperation with the Australian War Memorial, by Sydney-based production company, Beyond Productions. The series received wide critical acclaim, and positive feedback from the veteran and general communities.

The series was supported by a companion book published by the ABC and a website www.australiansatwar.gov.au. The website includes more than 200 stories of the experiences of war uncovered through The Great Search, during part of the research for Australians at War.

Education

In 2000-01, the Department distributed commemorative material to all 11 000 Australian primary and secondary schools in the lead-up to Remembrance Day 2000 and Anzac Day 2001.

The Remembrance Day 2000 Education Resource contained teachers' guides and student activities, urged schools to observe one minute's silence for Remembrance Day and provided advice on the correct way to wear their family member's medals.

The Anzac Day 2001 Education Resource: The Spirit of Anzac, was a cooperative venture with the Department of Defence. It focused on peacekeeping as its main theme and included activity books suitable for classroom exercises, the CD-ROM Images of INTERFET, a video entitled The Spirit of Anzac, teachers' guides and posters.

Remembering Together

Remembering Together is a collection of education resources covering a range of wartime conflicts that aims to increase the understanding of Australia's wartime history. The kit was produced as a pilot program for all primary South Australian and Northern Territory schools. Following evaluation an extension to other States will be considered.

Gallipoli website

In June 2001 the Department's website www.anzacsite.gov.au was announced a joint winner in the secondary schools' website category for The Australian newspaper and the Australian Publishers Association Excellence in Educational Publishing awards. The Department commissioned the New South Wales Board of Studies to develop the site.

Other education initiatives

DVA provided funds for Studies, magazine which is distributed to all secondary schools. Articles included The Korean War; Australia and Peacekeeping-then and now; and Military Medals-What do they tell us? Funding was also provided to Buzz newspaper, which is distributed to all primary schools. Articles in Buzz focussed on interviews with veterans in the issues preceding Anzac Day and Remembrance Day.

The Department sponsored the History Teachers' Associations of Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland to dedicate articles and classroom activities in their journals to wartime history themes. The Department submitted articles and classroom activities for these journals on War in the Pacific, Australians in wartime and Women in wartime.

DVA supported a number of regional Principal Association and State History Teachers' Association conferences. Papers and workshops were presented at the Australian College of Education, Australian Computers in Education and Curriculum Corporation conferences to broaden awareness of the Their Service - Our Heritage commemorative program.

A grant was provided in 2000 for the nation-wide extension of the Scouts' Australia Their Service - Our Heritage badge program. The badge encourages leaders and Scouts to participate in Anzac and Remembrance Day ceremonies and to visit a veteran or local war memorial and report on their experiences.

School competitions

The Anzac Day Schools' Activities Competition was run for the first time in 2001. The competition gave schools the opportunity to showcase how they commemorated Anzac Day and encouraged students to link the traditional form of the Anzac Day ceremony with creative ideas of their own. The national winner was Greenmount Primary School, WA. State prizes were also awarded.

The Department and the Australian War Memorial jointly supported the National History Challenge, a competition for students in Years 5 to 12, which has a category for wartime history. The national winner was Sarah Kearney of St Aidan's Anglican Girls' School at Corinda in Queensland, for her essay on HMAS Armidale.

The Department and the Australian War Memorial are closely involved with the Simpson Prize, an essay-based competition commissioned by the Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs for Year 9 and 10 students, which focuses on the Anzac legend. State winners of this competition visit Turkey to attend the Anzac Day ceremonies held at Gallipoli.

Community awareness

The Department runs several programs to encourage local communities to discover and commemorate their place in Australia's wartime history. These include Memories and Memorabilia, which helps communities and individuals to preserve and display items of interest from their wartime heritage, and Valuing our Veterans, which encourages veterans, communities and students to record the stories and memories of Australia's involvement in wars and conflicts.

A highly successful initiative has been the Certificates of Appreciation program. Federal Members of Parliament continue to receive a large number of requests for certificates to recognise the contribution by local men and women to Australia's service during war and conflicts.

Local Commemorative Activities Fund

The Department supports commemorative projects at the national level through the Commemorative Activities Program (CAP) and the community level through the Local Commemorative Activities Fund (LCAF). In 2000-01, 26 projects received CAP funding totalling $390 504. LCAF grants totalling $484 295 were provided to 242 projects.

WWII nominal roll

Work was progressed during 2000-01 on the development of a nominal roll of all Australians who served during World War II. The contract for the data conversion of the World War II military service records was let to Pickfords Records and Information Managers in June 2001, following a comprehensive tender process. The contract, worth more than $5m, includes working through some 1.3 million military service records to bring together the relevant information, as well as the preservation of the records. It is anticipated that the data conversion will be completed in September 2002. The nominal roll will be made available online through the Department's website, providing a range of information about World War II servicemen and women for students, researchers and family members. The nominal will be a major virtual memorial to Australia's involvement in World War II.

Sharing their Legacy

The Minister approved $60 000 for the History Trust of South Australia under Their Service - Our Heritage for Sharing their Legacy, a project consisting of 16 locally-based war memorabilia exhibitions across rural and metropolitan South Australia. The funding is being used by local museums, historical societies and ESOs for research and exhibition costs. The History Trust is providing professional design and curatorial assistance. The exhibitions are due to open during the second half of 2001.

Centenary of Federation - The People's Voice

Their Service - Our Heritage funding of $100 000 was provided to include a specific wartime heritage component in The People's Voice, a National Council for the Centenary of Federation community history website project. The project is on target to have 90 communities across the country providing local wartime heritage stories and images on the site by December 2001. The People's Voice can be viewed at www.peoplesvoice.gov.au.

Wartime history tour

The Department's historian participated in commemorative tours to Gallipoli and the Western Front conducted by Kompas Travel. He gave a series of lectures and provided site interpretations to more than 500 participants in the tours.