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SOUTH AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL WAR MEMORIAL
Adelaide, South Australia
Dedicated to those who gave their lives in the service
of their country during the Great War 1914-1918
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STATUARY SIGNIFICANCE
The National War Memorial has immense statuary significance.
Dealing first with the front, or obverse, the figure within
the arch represents the spirit of Duty, bearing in its hands
a sword shaped as a cross, the symbol of battle and sacrifice.
This figure is the vision seen by the group standing on the
stage in front. This group, symbolical of the youth of the
community, is represented as catching the first glimpse of
the vision which appears above the altar of the shrine of
sacrifice.
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Each member of the group - the student, the farmer and the
girl - affected by the impulse, instinctively drops the emblems
of craft and turns to the vision as it becomes clearer. The
reverse represents the passive, the aftermath of war. Once
again a winged spirit appears in the arch, but this time it
symbolises the attributes of Womanhood, her tender maternal
compassion, her sacrifice of son and lover, and her power
of resistance under strain.
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The spirit carries on its left arm the limp figure of a dead
hero, while in its right hand it holds the cross-like sword,
now in its scabbard.It was the voice of Womanhood, which uttered
the stirring lines from John Oxenham’s poem, "Hail! And Farewell",
which were engraved below:-
ALL HONOR GIVE TO THOSE WHO NOBLY STRIVING, NOBLY FELL THAT
WE MIGHT LIVE.
In harmony with the sad retrospect of the theme, is the fountain
of compassion fed from the mouth of a bronze lion, crowned
with the Imperial crown as the symbol of the British Commonwealth
of Nations.
The murmur and movement of the water, being ceaseless, typifies
the constant flow of memories of the heroes the memorial honors.
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HISTORY
In 1919 the State government decided that South Australia needed
a memorial to commemorate the Victory of the Great War 1914-1918,
and the supreme and personal sacrifice of those who participated
in that war and the national effort involved in such activities.
A committee was eventually formed. While arguments raged in Parliament
over a site, the committee announced an architectural competition
for the people of South Australia to submit a design for the South
Australian National War Memorial. The committee had narrowed the
designs down to five finalists when the designs were destroyed in
the Richards Building fire. Another competition, with the chosen
site included, was then announced. The designs for the memorial
had to be completed by December 16 1926.
There were 18 designs submitted.Within the design "Spirit of Sacrifice",
Woods, Bagot, Jory and Laybourne-Smith were announced as the winners
on January 15 1927. The design featured a crypt inside the memorial
with bronze honour rolls to line the walls. These contain the names
of the 5511 men who fell.
CONSTRUCTION
Contractors for the building of the memorial were the South Australian
Monumental Works, Tillet & Son. The sculptural models were created
by Sydney sculptor Mr G. Raynor-Hoff, with the bronze figures cast
by A.W. Dobbie & Co Ltd under the supervision of Mr W.G Laycock.
COSTING AND FUNDING
The South Australian Government decided that the cost was
not to exceed £25000. The estimate was sculptural work £8500,
masonry £15300, and landscaping and lighting £1200. However
the final figure was approximately £30000. In 1949 the control
of maintenance to the memorial was transferred to the Adelaide
City Council with the South Australian Government continuing
to pay all the costs.
ADDITIONAL MEMORIALS
As well as the State National War Memorial there are a further
four memorials located at this site. These are:
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The French Memorial
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World War I
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1914 - 1918
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World War II
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1939 - 1945
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The Battle of Lone Pine
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Aug 6 1915
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The Australian Armed Forces Memorial
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Malayan Peninsula
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1948 - 1960
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1964 - 1965
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Korean
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1950 - 1954
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Borneo
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1962 - 1966
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Vietnam War
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1962 - 1973
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World War II Memorial
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1939 - 1945
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CROSSES OF MEMORY
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of Memory. These commemorate: |
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The Siege of Tobruk
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April 10 - Dec 10 1941 |
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The 10th Battalion
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July and August 1916 |
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The 27th Battalion
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August 4,5, & 6 1916 |
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The 48th Battalion
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August 5 & 15 1916 |
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The 50th Battalion
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April 24 - 25 1918 |
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Royal Australian Regiment
THE UNVEILING
16 years after the landing at Gallipoli and before a crowd of almost
75,000, His Excellency the Governor Sir Alexander Hore-Ruthven gave
the following inspiring address:
"It is not only for ourselves that we have erected this visible
remembrance of great deeds, but rather that those who come after
us and have not experienced the horrors of war, or realised the
wanton destruction and utter futility of it all, may be inspired
to devise some better means to settle international disputes other
than by international slaughter. This memorial is the seal of South
Australia’s homage to her sons, who in the ranks of brave company
from all parts of the Empire, gave their lives during the Great
War." The News April 25 1931
Then with a fanfare of trumpets and a lowering of
the colours, the memorial was unveiled.
LOCATION
The corner of North Terrace and Kintore Avenue, Adelaide.
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Copyright © Commonwealth of Australia
2000. |
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http://www.dva.gov.au |
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