Interpretation Panels - The Australian Memorial, New Zealand

The fifteen columns of the Memorial each bear an inset panel of black granite.  On the central column is carved ‘ANZAC’.  On the others is inscribed the names of theatres and operations where Australians and New Zealanders have served together, and seven artworks by the first peoples of Australia and New Zealand.

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ANZAC

ANZAC is the acronym formed from the initial letters of ‘Australian and New Zealand Army Corps’. This was the formation in which Australian and New Zealand soldiers in Egypt were grouped before the landing on Gallipoli in April 1915. The acronym was first written as “A & NZ Army Corps”. However, clerks in the corps headquarters soon shortened it to ANZAC as a convenient telegraphic code name for addressing telegram messages. Today ANZAC is emblematic of the long and close relationship between the two nations and their shared goals in peace and war.

"ANZAC" is carved on the central column of the Australian Memorial

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Theatres of War and Operations in which Australians and New Zealanders have served together

Mounted troops of the NSW Mounted Rifles at Belmont, on New Years Eve.  [AWM A04413]

South Africa

From 1899 to 1902 at least 16,000 Australians served in the South African War as part of the forces of the British Empire, first representing the individual colonies and from 1901 the federated Australian nation. Serving mostly in mounted units, the colonial troops were valued for their ability to “shoot and ride”. The Boer War cost more than 600 Australian lives. The first Victoria Cross awarded to an Australian was earned by Captain Neville Howse in South Africa in 1900.

An elevated view of the beach, crowded with Australian and New Zealand troops the day after the landing at Anzac Cove. Ships can be seen in the background.  [AWM A03868]

Gallipoli

In 1915 Australian and New Zealand soldiers formed part of the allied expedition that set out to capture the Gallipoli peninsula in order to open the Dardanelles to the allied navies. The ultimate objective was to capture Constantinople (now Istanbul in Türkiye), the capital of the Ottoman Empire, an ally of Germany.

The Australian and New Zealand forces landed on Gallipoli on 25 April, meeting fierce resistance from the Ottoman Turkish defenders. A stalemate ensued and the campaign dragged on for eight months. At the end of 1915 the allied forces were evacuated, after both sides had suffered heavy casualties and endured great hardships. 8,700 Australian soldiers died alongside 2779 New Zealanders.

Although the Gallipoli campaign failed in its objectives, the Australian and New Zealand actions during the campaign left their nations a powerful legacy. The creation of what became known as the “Anzac legend” became an important part of the identity of both nations, shaping the ways they viewed both their past and their future.

 

Belgium - 25 October 1917. Australians on the way to take up a front line position in the Ypres Sector. The ruins of Ypres, including the Cloth Hall, can be seen in the background. [AWM E04612]

Flanders

The Anzac experience of Flanders centred on the town of Ypres in Belgium and the section of the Western Front known as the Ypres Salient. It was in this area that the Third Battle of Ypres was fought from July to November 1917. Despite Anzac success at Broodseinde Ridge, Australian and New Zealand forces sustained enormous losses in an unsuccessful effort to capture Passchendaele in October. Fighting in appalling weather, the New Zealand Division suffered 845 men killed and almost 1900 wounded in a single day. These casualties amounted to five percent of New Zealand’s total casualties in the entire First World War. In nine weeks of fighting Australia suffered 38,000 casualties, with 6,673 dying in October alone.

 

An Australian fatigue party from the 7th Brigade (far left) carrying piles of empty sandbags to the front line through the devastated area near Pozieres. [AWM EZ0098]

Northern France

After the withdrawal from Gallipoli, the Australian Imperial Force and the New Zealand Expeditionary Force were redeployed to the Western Front in France and Belgium. For most of the war, these forces served separately, rather than as combined Anzac forces. Australia’s first major engagement, the disastrous Battle of Fromelles on 19 July 1916, the worst day in Australian military history, saw more than 5,500 casualties. Both nation’s forces endured great hardship and learned bloody lessons on the Somme in 1916, where at Pozieres 23,000 Australians were killed or wounded in six weeks.

In March and April of 1918 Australian and New Zealand troops would each fight decisive battles to counter the great German spring offensive, nowhere to greater effect than on the Somme. At Hébuterne an Australian brigade fought alongside the New Zealand Division, and together with the Australian battles at Dernancourt and Villers-Bretonneux, halted a major German breakthrough on the Somme and helped determine the outcome of the war. Both forces played decisive but costly spearhead roles in the following breakthrough ‘Advance to Victory’ which led to the end of the war.

 

An unidentified signaller of the 1st Light Horse Regiment operating a tripod mounted heliograph. Note the horses in the background. [AWM P00228.060]

Sinai-Palestine

In the Middle East from 1916 to 1918, in conditions completely different from the mud and stagnation of the Western Front, Australian and New Zealand mounted formations led the Allied advance from the Suez Canal, through the Sinai and Palestine and into Syria, which broke the Turkish Ottoman Army. By the standards of the Western front, casualties were comparatively light, with 1,394 Australians killed or wounded.

 

Lieutenant George Pinnock Merz climbing aboard a Bristol Boxkite aircraft. [AWM A03918]

Mesopotamia

When The Ottoman Empire entered the First World War, British and Indian troops were sent to Mesopotamia in an attempt to secure the recently discovered oil fields. In 1915 Australia contributed to the Mesopotamian or Australian Half Flight, the first Australian operational air deployment of the war and other elements. The first air crew losses were Lieutenant G.P. Merz of Australia and Lieutenant W.W.A. Burn of New Zealand who died alongside each other after their aircraft was forced down.

 

April 1941 - Kalamata area, Greece. Australian troops resting under the trees in the Kalamata area while awaiting embarkation during the withdrawal of the allied forces from Greece. [AWM 069888]

Greece

Hastily organised Anzac and British forces arrived in Greece shortly before the German invasion began on 6 April 1941. Vastly outnumbered, the Allies were unable to halt the rapid German advance and were later evacuated by British and Australian warships and transports. In Greece 320 Australians were killed and 2,030 Australian troops became prisoners of war.

 

Part of an Australian & N.Z. hospital arrive safely in Crete. [AWM 007606]

Crete

Many of the Australian and New Zealanders evacuated from Greece in 1941 found themselves in Crete preparing for its defence. German paratroopers commenced large-scale landings on 20 May 1941. Anzac troops inflicted very heavy losses on the German forces, and a gallant rear-guard action by the 2/7th Battalion, AIF, and the New Zealand Māori battalion allowed many of the withdrawing Allied forces to reach the evacuation point in Suda Bay. By the time the island fell on 29 May, 274 Australians had been killed and over 3,000 taken prisoner.

 

Gunners of 2/8th Australian Field Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery, firing a 25-pounder field gun at a range of 9,800 yards at German positions on the coastal sector near El Alamein. [AWM 024513]

North Africa

Australians and New Zealanders served in both land and air campaigns in North Africa against Germany and Italy, and at sea in the Mediterranean. Both nations’ forces played critical roles at El Alamein, the decisive battle of the North African campaign which led to eventual victory in North Africa, before the bulk of Australian forces would return to Australia to counter the threat from Japan. The Australian 9th Division suffered 2,700 casualties killed, wounded or missing at El Alamein.

 

October 1942 - Milne Bay, New Guinea. Australian troops plough through the mud at Milne Bay shortly after the unsuccessful Japanese invasion attempt. [AWM 013335]

Pacific

When Japan entered the war in December 1941, the Pacific became the focus of Australia’s war effort. Australians served on land, at sea and in the air from Singapore to the Solomon Islands. The surrender of Singapore in February 1942 saw more than 15,000 Australians taken prisoner. The war struck home to Australia; Darwin was bombed and Japanese submarines entered Sydney harbour. Between July and November 1942 fierce fighting on the Kokoda Track in Papua and New Guinea turned back the Japanese overland advance on Port Moresby. Bitter fighting at Buna, Gona and Sanananda and later around Lae enabled the successful advance along the North Coast of New Guinea and subsequent operations in Borneo and Balikpapan.

 

Supermarine Spitfires from 457 Squadron RAAF, flying in formation, England, February 1942. [AWM 128210]

Air War Europe

Australians and New Zealanders served with distinction in the skies over Europe in the Second World War. RAAF and RNZAF airmen flew in British, Australian and New Zealand squadrons of Coastal, Bomber and Fighter Commands. Most served in Bomber Command, taking part in the costly air war against Germany. The 3,846 Australians killed in Bomber Command accounted for almost 20 per cent of Australian combat deaths, but represented less than two per cent of enlistments.

 

Korea. c. 1951. Walking over snow covered mountains, an Australian mortar fire control team moves forward to a forward position to bring support to a patrol. [AWM HOBJ2106]

Korea

In 1950 Australian and New Zealand forces joined a United Nations force to support South Korea following its invasion by North Korea. Later, China joined forces with North Korea. New Zealand artillery support was central to Australian and Canadian success at the battle of Kapyong in 1951 and Australian operations until an Armistice in July 1953 ending the fighting. A final agreement - a peace treaty - has yet to be signed. Over 17,000 Australians of the Army, RAN and RAAF served during the Korean War, of whom 340 were killed and over 1,500 were wounded.

 

A Daimler Ferret armoured car has just escorted these unidentified soldiers from 'stand by' platoon, B Company, 2nd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, (2RAR), to a rubber plantation. It keeps guard as the patrol heads off through the plantation and into the jungle after a reported sighting of a gang of Communist terrorists. [AWM HOB/56/0751/MC]

Malaya

Australian air and later ground forces served in Malaya from 1950 until the Malayan Emergency concluded in 1960. Alongside British and New Zealand forces they fought what is now recognised as a skilful and highly successful counter-insurgency campaign against the communist insurgency that had begun in 1948.

 

Armed with L1A1 Self Loading Rifles, unidentified members of D Company (D Coy), 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (3RAR), returning from a jungle patrol to their forward company base at Stass on the Sarawak-Kalamantan border. [AWM P04762.006]

Borneo

British, Australian and New Zealand forces served in an undeclared counter-insurgency war in Borneo following Indonesian raids into Malaysian territory in 1963. Australian forces were committed to this campaign (known as ‘Confrontation’) in 1965 until Confrontation formally ended in August 1966. It was the last occasion in which Australians and New Zealanders fought for what was essentially a British cause – the fate of former British colonial possessions in Southeast Asia.

 

Members of a company, 2RAR/NZ (the Anzac Battalion), comprising 2nd Battalion, the Royal Australian Regiment and a component from the 1st Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry regiment, wade through deep water to cross a paddy field south-east of the Australian Task Force base at Nui Dat. [AWM CAM/67/0804/VN]

Vietnam

Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War began in 1962 when 30 advisers were sent to support South Vietnamese forces. By the time the main body of Australian forces had departed in 1972, around 60,000 Australians had served in Vietnam. Australians and New Zealanders served alongside one another in Anzac battalions and New Zealand artillery support was central to Australian success in the epic battle at Long Tan in 1966. Australia sustained 3,500 casualties in Vietnam, 521 of whom lost their lives.

 

Flight Lieutenant (Flt/Lt) Andrew Doig, a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) dentist (left) and Corporal (Cpl) Jane Roberts treating a patient at a Dental Clinic being conducted at Atamo. Both Australians are members of the multinational Peace Monitoring Group (PMG). [AWM P03518.029]

Bougainville

Many Australians served in Bougainville, Papua New Guinea, during the Second World War against the Japanese. Post-war, tensions between Bougainville and Papua New Guinea turned to separatist insurgency in 1989, to become one of the most serious conflicts in the South Pacific region since the Second World War. Australia led a brief peacekeeping force in October 1994 (Operation Lagoon), followed by a New Zealand led Truce Monitoring Group in late 1997 and an Australian led Peace Monitoring Group (PMG) from early 1998 until 2003. The PMG comprised service personnel and civilians from Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Vanuatu. The PMG created the conditions for the establishment of the Autonomous Bougainville Government.

 

HMAS Tarakan at dusk in East Timor. Photograph: Department of Defence

East Timor

Following 25 years of Indonesian rule in East Timor, Indonesia allowed the territory to vote for its independence in 1999. The vote was conducted by the United Nations Mission in East Timor (UNAMET), to which Australia contributed police. The outcome led to a campaign of violence by pro-Indonesian militias. With Indonesia’s agreement, Australia then led INTERFET, the International Force for East Timor, from September 1999. At its peak, there were more than 11,000 troops deployed by 23 contributing countries including New Zealand. Australia’s deployment reached a peak of 5,700 troops in November 1999. The last Australian troops to leave East Timor returned home in 2012.

 

A Royal Australian Navy (RAN) Sea King helicopter approaches the small town of  Avu Avu on the remote weathercoast of Guadalcanal.  The military component of he Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands supported the establishment of the first police post outside Honiara. Photograph: CPL Sean Burton

Solomon Islands

From July 2003 Australia led the Regional Assistance to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI) mission assisting the government of the Solomon Islands to restore law and order. The operation was supported by 15 countries from the Pacific region, with troop contributions from five countries: Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Tonga. RAMSI transitioned to a policing mission from July 2013.

 

HMAS Darwin alongside the Iraqi tanker Amuriyah, suspected of flouting trade sanctions against Iraq. [AWM P01575.007]

Iraq

Elements of the RAN, RAAF and the Australian Army participated in the First Gulf War in 1991 in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait the previous year. In 2003, Australia joined the 'Coalition of the Willing' to overthrow the regime of Saddam Hussein. All three services participated in Australia's involvement from July 2003 to July 2009. Both RAN and RNZN ships served in the Multinational Interception Force – Persian Gulf. Members of the New Zealand Defence Force served in Iraq in 2003-04 providing reconstruction assistance.

 

A Special Forces Reservist observes a valley in Chenartu, Uruzgan as a Blackhawk circles above. Photograph: Department of Defence

Afghanistan

Australia joined the United States-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington DC. In time, the international coalition would comprise 49 nations, including New Zealand. Personnel from each of the Australian services served in Afghanistan over the years to 2014. From counter-insurgency, through reconstruction, to mentoring, Australians in Oruzgan province and New Zealanders and others elsewhere worked to create a democratic and stable Afghan nation. The mission aimed to assist the people of Afghanistan, but also to promote the security of the region, diminish the influence of terrorist groups, and create a safer global environment. Australia’s longest war cost 42 Australian lives, with more than 260 wounded.

 

Private Jason Putland from Delta Company 1st Battalion The Royal Australian Regiment carry out a food drop for locals. Photograph: Corporal Gary Ramage

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