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(Created page with "{{Infobox | name = Ballarat POW Memorial | title = | above = | subheader = | image = File:Ballarat_1.jpg | caption =...")
 
 
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|  label2  = Name
 
|  label2  = Name
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|  data2  =  
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|  data2  =Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial
  
 
|  label3  = Location
 
|  label3  = Location
−
|  data3  =  
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|  data3  = Ballarat Botanical Gardens, Victoria
  
 
|  label4  = Dedication Date
 
|  label4  = Dedication Date
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|  data4  =  
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|  data4  = 6 Feb 2004
  
  
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==History==
 
==History==
 +
Between the 1950s and 1990s surviving prisoners of war from the Ballarat region met regularly and the idea of a focal point for commemoration were periodically discussed. Mewanwhile the Australian Federal Government had given periodic undertakings that a permanent monument would be eventually built in Canberra to honour POWs.
 +
 +
Early in the 1980s, the Ballarat City Council had granted a parcel of land adjacent to the city gardens to allow local veterans a place to establish a permanent focal point for the Ballarat POWs. Given that by the mid-1990s the Australian Federal Government had still not produced a plan for a permanent monument to be established in Canberra, the surviving POWs in Ballarat began planning the building of a permanent memorial in their city. It was to be privately funded and established with minimum government assistance.
 +
 +
Strongly supported by the Ballarat branch of the Returned and Services League (RSL) of Australia, a local sculptor, Peter Blizzard, was commissioned to design a concept for the memorial. The result was for a monument far greater in scale and scope than that originally envisaged by the veterans. However, support for a significantly larger monument that would commemorate all Australian POWs was immediate. Funding was provided through lotteries, private donations, benevolent organisations,  the City of Ballarat, local businesses, and belatedly the Federal and Victorian State Governments. Work commenced on the construction of the memorial in early 2003 with much of the labour and materials donated or provided at cost.
 +
 +
The Ballarat RSL, assisted by volunteers, had worked for over 10 years to compile names to form the first national database of Australian prisoners of war. Prior to 2004, the Australian Federal Government and the Australian Defence Force held no complete central list, database, or consolidated record of its prisoners of war. Information was recorded only on individual personnel records held in Defence archives in Melbourne. It is believed that there may be some names still missing, and the memorial has a postscript section allocated to enable further additions.<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Ex-Prisoners_of_War_Memorial accessed 23 May 2020</ref>
  
 
==Setting==
 
==Setting==
 +
Southern end of the Ballarat Botanical Gardens off Carlton street, near Lake Wendouree.
  
 
==Description==
 
==Description==
 +
Approximately 130 metres (430 feet) long, the memorial features a long pathway of light-grey basalt pavers cut to resemble railway sleepers, reminiscent of those used on the Thai–Burma Railway. To the southern side are two canted black polished granite walls with the names of all known Australian prisoners of war. They are listed alphabetically by war and no rank is acknowledged. The two walls are separated in the middle by a square pool of water that features six large basalt obelisks. These feature the names of the countries where Australian POWs were held. The obelisks centralised in the pool of water symbolise the Australian POWs being cut off and isolated from their homeland by the ocean. The sixth obelisk is deliberately toppled on its side and broken, symbolising "The Fallen"<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Ex-Prisoners_of_ 11 Apr 1917War_Memorial accessed 23 May 2020</ref>
 +
 +
==World War 1 Locals==
 +
A
 +
* [[Edward Armstrong]]  16 Nov 1916 Gueudecourt, France
 +
B
 +
* [[John Blake]] 11 Apr 1917 1st Bullecourt, France
 +
* [[Victor Leo Gordon Boyle]]  5 Apr 1918 Albert, France
 +
C
 +
* [[Donald Victor Chisholm]]  15 Apr 1917 Lagnicourt, France
 +
* [[William Francis Cohn]]  11 Apr 1917 1st Bullecourt, France 
 +
* [[Gordon Vidgen Cross]]  11 Apr 1917 1st Bullecourt, France
 +
H
 +
* † [[Stephen Henry Horrocks]]  29 Jul 1916 Pozières, France
 +
* † [[William John Howe]]  29 Jul 1916 Pozières, France
 +
K
 +
* [[John William King]]  12 Oct 1917 Passchendaele, Belgium
 +
L
 +
* † [[Herbert George Lewis]]  14/16 Aug 1916 Mouquet Farm, France
 +
* [[John Macarthur Livingston]]  15 Apr 1917 Louverval, France
 +
M
 +
* [[Claude Robert Marsh]]  11 Apr 1917, 1st Bullecourt, France
 +
* [[Melbourne Hubert Randolph Matthews]]  16 Apr 1917 Louverval, France
 +
P
 +
* [[John Waldegrave Packer]]  7 May 1918 Morlancourt, France
 +
R
 +
* [[Frederick Rawlinson]]  11 Apr 1917 1st Bullecourt, France
 +
* [[Egbert Robert Trethowan Reeves]]  11 Apr 1917 1st Bullecourt, France
 +
* [[John Edmond Rhodes]]  11 Apr 1917  1st Bullecourt, France
 +
* [[Hartland Wheare Richards]]  11 Apr 1917  1st Bullecourt, France
 +
* [[Francis Henry Ryniker]]  3 Sep 1916 Mouquet Farm, France
 +
S
 +
* † [[Joseph Scott]]  11 Apr 1917  1st Bullecourt, France
 +
* † [[Luke Siford]]  29 Jul 1916  Pozières, France
 +
T
 +
* [[Arnold Thorp]]  29 Jul 1916 Pozières
 +
U
 +
* [[John Francis Ullyott]]  11 Apr 1917 1st Bullecourt, France
 +
W
 +
* [[Stuart Alan Webb]]  16 Nov 1916 Gueudecourt, France
 +
* [[Aubrey Jesse Whittington MM]]  11 Apr 1917  1st Bullecourt, France
 +
* [[William Charles Woodland]]  3 Sep 1916 Mouquet Farm, France
 +
 +
==World War 2 Locals==
 +
B
 +
* † [[James William Basell]]  15 Feb 1942 Singapore
 +
* [[Harry Wallace Benson]]  ?? May 1941 Greece or Crete
 +
* [[Macalister Adair Blain]]  15 Feb 1942 Singapore
 +
* [[Joseph James Burrows]]  26/27 Jul 1942 Ruin Ridge, Egypt
 +
C
 +
* [[Herbert James Collier]]  26/27 Jul 1942 Ruin Ridge, Egypt
 +
* [[Billy Kendall Collins]]  RAAF, Europe 1942
 +
* [[Ronald Hamilton Cornish]]  15 Feb 1942 Singapore
 +
D
 +
* [[Clifford Stanley Douglas]]  RAAF 1 Jun 1942 Holland
 +
* [[Norman Lenard (Bob) Dunnell]]  15 Feb 1942 Singapore
 +
F
 +
* [[Edward Charles (Ted) Fancote]]  ?? May 1941, Crete
 +
* [[Basil Fitzgerald]]  15 Feb 1942, Singapore
 +
* [[William Randall Foggon]]  26 Apr 1941, Greece
 +
G
 +
* [[George Garratt]]  ?? May 1941, Crete
 +
* [[Charles William (Tiny) Gray]]  15 Feb 1942, Singapore
 +
* [[David Peter Gray]]  RAN 1 Mar 1942, Sunda Strait, Indonesia
 +
* [[William Rice Gregory]]  15 Feb 1942, Singapore
 +
H
 +
* [[Stanley Hubert Hancock]]  ?? Jun 1941, Crete
 +
* † [[Robert Hassett]]  4 Jun 1941, Crete
 +
* [[Donald Campell William Henderson]]  26/27 Jul 1942 Ruin Ridge, Egypt ??
 +
* [[Kevin James Higgins]]  ?? May 1941, Crete
 +
* [[Edgar Joseph Howard]]  15 Feb 1942, Singapore
 +
J
 +
* [[Stanley Rudolph Jarvis]]  26/27 Jul 1942 Ruin Ridge,
 +
* † [[Thomas Charles Johnson]]  RAN 1 Mar 1942, Sunda Strait, Indonesia
 +
* [[Andrew David Johnson]]  ?? May 1941, Crete
 +
* [[William James Johnson]]  ?? May 1941, Crete
 +
K
 +
* † [[Kenneth Myers Kroenert]]  ?? May 1941, Crete
 +
* † [[Edward Johnathon (Ted) Leadbitter]]  15 Feb 1942, Singapore
 +
M
 +
* [[James Robert McCormack]]  9 Mar 1942, Java
 +
* [[Stanton Edward McKenna]]  26/27 Jul 1942, Ruin Ridge, Egypt
 +
* † [[Andrew McKenzie]] 26/27 Jul 1942, Ruin Ridge, Egypt
 +
* [[Alec Charles Murphy]]  RAN 1 Mar 1942, Sunda Strait, Indonesia
 +
O
 +
* [[Maurice Gerard O'Brien]]  ?? May 1941, Crete
 +
P
 +
* [[Charles Owen Parkin]]  9 Mar 1942, Java
 +
* [[William Albert Arthur Parkin]]  15 Feb 1942, Malaya
 +
R
 +
* [[James Percy Ray]]  ?? May 1941, Crete
 +
* † [[Herbert Michael (Bert) Rubery]]  15 Jan 1942, Singapore
 +
S
 +
* [[Harold Edward (Tony) Saw]]  15 Jan 1942, Singapore 
 +
T
 +
* [[William James Stevens (Jim) Tchan]] RAN 1 Mar 1942, Sunda Strait, Indonesia
 +
* † [[James Pryor Thatcher]]  7 Mar 1942, Java
 +
* [[John Roy (Jack) Thorpe OAM]]    7 Mar 1942, Java
 +
W
 +
* † [[Fred Whitaker]] 6 Aug 1943, Burma Railway, Thailand
 +
* [[Tom Henry Whitehouse]]  26/27 Jul 1942, Ruin Ridge, Egypt
 +
* [[Norman Rees Willacott MID]]  26/27 Jul 1942, Ruin Ridge, Egypt.
  
−
==Monument Details==
+
==Notes==
−
Title
+
† Died while in enemy hands.
 +
See also [[The Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial]]
  
 
[[Category:Monuments and memorials]]
 
[[Category:Monuments and memorials]]

Latest revision as of 00:15, 25 October 2023

Ballarat 1.jpg
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Monument Details
Name Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial
Location Ballarat Botanical Gardens, Victoria
Dedication Date 6 Feb 2004

History

Between the 1950s and 1990s surviving prisoners of war from the Ballarat region met regularly and the idea of a focal point for commemoration were periodically discussed. Mewanwhile the Australian Federal Government had given periodic undertakings that a permanent monument would be eventually built in Canberra to honour POWs.

Early in the 1980s, the Ballarat City Council had granted a parcel of land adjacent to the city gardens to allow local veterans a place to establish a permanent focal point for the Ballarat POWs. Given that by the mid-1990s the Australian Federal Government had still not produced a plan for a permanent monument to be established in Canberra, the surviving POWs in Ballarat began planning the building of a permanent memorial in their city. It was to be privately funded and established with minimum government assistance.

Strongly supported by the Ballarat branch of the Returned and Services League (RSL) of Australia, a local sculptor, Peter Blizzard, was commissioned to design a concept for the memorial. The result was for a monument far greater in scale and scope than that originally envisaged by the veterans. However, support for a significantly larger monument that would commemorate all Australian POWs was immediate. Funding was provided through lotteries, private donations, benevolent organisations, the City of Ballarat, local businesses, and belatedly the Federal and Victorian State Governments. Work commenced on the construction of the memorial in early 2003 with much of the labour and materials donated or provided at cost.

The Ballarat RSL, assisted by volunteers, had worked for over 10 years to compile names to form the first national database of Australian prisoners of war. Prior to 2004, the Australian Federal Government and the Australian Defence Force held no complete central list, database, or consolidated record of its prisoners of war. Information was recorded only on individual personnel records held in Defence archives in Melbourne. It is believed that there may be some names still missing, and the memorial has a postscript section allocated to enable further additions.[1]

Setting

Southern end of the Ballarat Botanical Gardens off Carlton street, near Lake Wendouree.

Description

Approximately 130 metres (430 feet) long, the memorial features a long pathway of light-grey basalt pavers cut to resemble railway sleepers, reminiscent of those used on the Thai–Burma Railway. To the southern side are two canted black polished granite walls with the names of all known Australian prisoners of war. They are listed alphabetically by war and no rank is acknowledged. The two walls are separated in the middle by a square pool of water that features six large basalt obelisks. These feature the names of the countries where Australian POWs were held. The obelisks centralised in the pool of water symbolise the Australian POWs being cut off and isolated from their homeland by the ocean. The sixth obelisk is deliberately toppled on its side and broken, symbolising "The Fallen"[2]

World War 1 Locals

A

B

C

H

K

L

M

P

R

S

T

U

W

World War 2 Locals

B

C

D

F

G

H

J

K

M

O

P

R

S

T

W

Notes

† Died while in enemy hands.

See also The Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial
  1. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Ex-Prisoners_of_War_Memorial accessed 23 May 2020
  2. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Ex-Prisoners_of_ 11 Apr 1917War_Memorial accessed 23 May 2020
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