Javascript DHTML Drop Down Menu Powered by dhtml-menu-builder.com   Ocean Reef 100th ANZAC Memorial

Artists Concept

The inspiration for this Memorial is drawn from the very heart of the Anzac tradition, the “Light” of the Dawn Service and that ancient Roman symbol of military victory, the “Arch”.

In this instance the arch also symbolises connection and unity as a passage between two connecting spaces – two worlds: ‘before and after’, as a symbolic gateway from the troubled past to a hopeful future and “Renewal”. Traditionally, passing under an arch was a process of leaving the past at rest and the regeneration of life. It is a “portal” between past and future and a threshold into a special space, connecting two worlds: the world of war and pain, into a peaceful future.

Throughout the year, but particularly on Anzac Day, the sunlight passing through the arch from dawn to dusk, becomes a visual manifestation of the Ode: “At the going down of the Sun and in the morning, we will remember them”

Fused into this great glass arch are photographic images charting the entire 100 years of Australia’s military involvement throughout the world, from Gallipoli to the present day.

It is recognised, that in contemporary warfare, 80% of causalities are caused by artillery. Thus, we have place a symbolic inverted artillery shell beneath the exact centre of the arch. This is raised on three steps, to form a ‘sacred altar’ for ceremonial wreath laying. The three steps represent the three Services, making the Altar the focal point of the entire Memorial