Sydney Cenotaph

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Sydney Cenotaph
Australia

For the war dead of New South Wales from all conflicts
Unveiled	25 April 1927
Location	33°52′03″S 151°12′35″E / 33.86750°S 151.20972°E / -33.86750; 151.20972Coordinates: 33°52′03″S 151°12′35″E / 33.86750°S 151.20972°E / -33.86750; 151.20972 Sydney, Australia
Designed by	Sir Bertram Mackennal
"Lest We Forget" & "To Our Glorious Dead"

Detail of the cenotaph

The Sydney Cenotaph is located in Martin Place and is one of the oldest World War I monuments in the Central Business District.

On the southern side, facing the General Post Office it states "To Our Glorious Dead" and on the Northern side, facing Challis House it states "Lest We Forget." It is used on a regular basis for ceremonies, far more than the Australian War Memorial in Canberra. The Cenotaph is the centre for the Anzac and Armistice Day dawn service ceremonies held in Sydney, regularly drawing thousands of attendees.

History

Martin Place, adjacent to the General Post Office (GPO), was the location in which the majority of Sydney's soldiers enlisted into the Australian Army for World War I. The Sydney GPO was also the main conduit of news information during World War I.

On 8 March 1926, the Premier of NSW, Jack Lang, indicated that the State Government would provide a sum of ten thousand pounds for the commissioning of Sir Bertram Mackennal to undertake the project of the design and erection of a Cenotaph in Martin Place, to be completed by 25 April 1929. It was completed in 1927. Made of granite, it weighs 20 tonnes.^[1]

The statues

The model for the soldier was Private William Pigott Darby from the 15th Infantry Battalion (Gallipoli & the Western Front; wounded at Pozieres) and 4th Field Ambulance AIF. A native of Monasterevin, Ireland (born 25 Apr 1872), he died in Brisbane on 15 November 1935.

The model for the sailor was Leading Seaman John William Varco. He enlisted on 3 June 1913, served on HMAS Pioneer (1914–1916) in German East Africa and on HMAS Parramatta (1917–1919). He was awarded the Commonwealth Distinguished Service Medal in 1918 (one of 60 Australians to earn this honour) and died in October 1948.

References

↑ "Sydney Cenotaph". The Sydney Morning Herald. 5 August 1927. Retrieved 10 October 2013.

External links

v t e Australian war memorials

Major national monuments (capital cities)	ANZAC War Memorial (Sydney) Australian Army Memorial (Canberra) Australian War Memorial (Canberra) The Cenotaph (Hobart) Kings Park War Memorial (Perth) National War Memorial (Adelaide) Shrine of Remembrance (Brisbane) Shrine of Remembrance (Melbourne)

On foreign soil	Australian War Memorial (London, England) Lae War Cemetery (Lae, Papua New Guinea) Lone Pine Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery (Gallipoli, Turkey) V.C. Corner Australian Cemetery and Memorial (Fromelles, France)

Regional monuments	ACT Memorial (Canberra) Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial (Ballarat) Monument Hill (Fremantle) Victory Memorial Gardens (Wagga Wagga)

Boer War memorials	South African War Memorial (Adelaide)

World War I memorials	Arch of Victory (Ballarat) Avenues of Honour The Cenotaph (Sydney) Johnstone Park Memorial (Geelong)

World War II memorials	Australian–American Memorial (Canberra) Avenues of Honour Albany Armadale Bacchus Marsh Ballarat Booroopki Buchan South Cowra Hobart Lakes Entrance Lysterfield Macedon O'Connell Woodend North Military Museum and Bombing Memorial (Darwin)

Korean War memorials	Korean War Memorial (Canberra)

Campaigns	Regimental Square (Sydney)

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