War Memorials in Australia
New Zealand Memorial
Place: Campbell,
Australian Capital Territory, 2612
District:
Southern Tablelands
(ACT)
Orientation: Suburb of Canberra
Location: North-east and north-west corners of Anzac Parade and Constitution
Avenue
Position: 35 17 36 S 149 08 51 E
(East side) 35 17 34 S 149
08 46 E (West side)
Ref: 00041
__________________________
The memorial sits on both sides of Anzac Parade at the southern end of the memorial area. There are similar structures at each site representing the handles of a Maori kete or flax basket but the design on the eastern side has a New Zealand emphasis and that on the western side an Australian one. The 'handles' are made of bronze and are 11.5 metres high. In front of each handle are bronze 'teeth' or nihoniho representing the top edge of the basket. There are five of these on the New Zealand side and three on the Australian. The kete handles stand on paving which is different on each side. On the Australian side the Aboriginal design is the work of Daisy Nadjungdanga from Maningruda in the Northern Territory, in association with the Sydney-based Urban Arts Projects. On the New Zealand side is a Maori design by Toi Te Rito Maihi and Allen Wihongi from Northland. The designs suggest the weaving of a basket and express the interweaving of land, its peoples and cultures.
The arrangement is a metaphor of sharing the load and mutual experiences, both in peace and in war. It is based on a Maori proverb: "Each of us at a handle of the basket". The front of each handle has a stylised woven pattern to reinforce the flax origin of the original concept, while the back has vertical fluting which alludes to the war memorial tradition of pillars and to the scars which are the price of war.
Soil from Gallipoli has been buried in the centre of each paved area. On the Australian side it comes from Lone Pine, is contained within a jarrah box and marked by a granite block from the Riverina district. On the New Zealand side the soil comes from Chunuk Bair, sits in a rimu box and is marked by a granite block from the Coromandel. From each centre, which represents the importance of Gallipoli to the Anzac tradition, emanate, like ripples in a pond, the names of those campaigns in which the armed forces of the two countries have served and fought together.
On the eastern side the colour of the paving is predominantly green, black and white, the colours of the New Zealand landscape. The stone from which the paving is made comes from Coromandel, Golden Bay and Canterbury so that visitors are literally walking on New Zealand. Similarly the Australian paving echoes the reds and browns of the Australian landscape.
The theme of the memorial has a clear New Zealand identity and expresses the Anzac relationship in all its diversity and richness. Sited at the head of the ceremonial area of Anzac Parade the memorial is intended to link with other memorials on the Parade and to commemorate the bonds between the two countries that were forged in war. As it looks across the lake to the seat of Federal Parliament it is intended to express also the wider political and social relationships between the two nations.
The invitation to build the memorial came from the Australian Government and was accepted by New Zealand in 1995. A competition was held the following year, open to both Australian and New Zealand designers and attracted over 100 expressions of interest. Twelve teams were invited to submit designs and three were asked to develop these further. The winning design is the work of Kingsley Baird and Studio of Pacific Architecture, both of Wellington, NZ. The handles were engineered and constructed in Melbourne, Australia by Meridian Sculpture Founders.
The memorial was dedicated on 24 April 2001 by the Prime Ministers of Australia and New Zealand, John Howard and Helen Clark. Mr Howard, in his address, said that there were no two countries in the world which had formed such a strong bond as New Zealand and Australia. That association of our histories, of the mingled blood of so many of our young people, led to the developing of our common values. Ms Clark said that in the symbolic basket are to be found our shared history, values and memories and our common endeavours and sacrifices in peace and in war. The connections between New Zealand and Australia go back to the earliest years of our recorded histories. The backdrop of Anzac Parade and the Australian War Memorial remind us that joint military endeavour has played a significant part in our histories. Indeed, convention has it that our independent national identities were forged on the beaches and hills of Gallipoli. The memorial stands as New Zealand's gift to the people of Australia to mark the centenary of Australian Federation this year.
East (New Zealand) side
2nd 'tooth' from left
THE NEW ZEALAND MEMORIAL
IS A GIFT FROM THE PEOPLE OF NEW ZEALAND
TO THE PEOPLE OF AUSTRALIA
THIS
MEMORIAL WAS UNVEILED BY
THE
RIGHT
HONOURABLE
HELEN
CLARK
MP
PRIME
MINISTER
OF NEW
ZEALAND
AND
THE
HONOURABLE
JOHN
HOWARD
MP
PRIME MINISTER OF AUSTRALIA
ON 24 APRIL 2001
3rd 'tooth' from left
This sea we cross over
and over. Tides turning on
gold and sheep. On rain. On sand.
On earth the fallen lie
beneath. On geography. On
women standing. Matilda
waltzing. On people of
gardens and movement.
On trade and union.
This sea a bridge
of faith. This sea we are
contained and
moved by.
JENNY BORNHOLDT
Oval stone in middle of circles
BENEATH THIS STONE LIES SOIL
FROM CHUNIK BAIR, GALLIPOLI
On radiating circles
SOUTH AFRICA
GALLIPOLI FLANDERS NORTHERN FRANCE SINAI -
PALESTINE MESOPOTAMIA
GREECE CRETE NORTHERN AFRICA PACIFIC
AIR WAR EUROPE
KOREA MALAYA BORNEO VIETNAM
On south-east corner of handle at rear
Kingsley Baird & Studio of Pacific Architecture
2001
Marble plaque on north-east
corner of handle
TOI
TE RITO MAIHI
& ALLEN WIHONGI
2001
Plaque on road corner
NEW ZEALAND MEMORIAL
Mau tena kiwai o te kete, maku tenai
Each of us at a handle of the basket
| The New Zealand Memorial
commemorates the unique friendship between New Zealand and Australian people. The two kete or basket handles express the shared effort needed to achieve common goals in both peace and war, and to acknowledge the courage and sacrifice of the servicemen and women of both countries who fought shoulder to shoulder on foreign soil. The memorial was
designed through a collaboration between artist Kingsley Baird and
architects The paving patterns upon which the
kete handles stand represent the weaving of a basket and At the centre of the paving on each
side is buried soil from Gallipoli, the birthplace of the |
Coat of Arms of New Zealand Coat of Arms of Australia
West (Australian) side
Right hand 'tooth'
This sea we cross over
and over. Tides turning on
gold and sheep. On rain. On sand.
On earth the fallen lie
beneath. On geography. On
women standing. Matilda
waltzing. On people of
gardens and movement.
On trade and union.
This sea a bridge
of faith. This sea we are
contained and
moved by.
JENNY BORNHOLDT
On radiating circles
GALLIPOLI
SOUTH AFRICA FLANDERS
NORTHERN FRANCE
SINAI - PALESTINE
CRETE
NORTH AFRICA PACIFIC
EUROPE
KOREA MALAYA
BORNEO
VIETNAM
Inlaid metal lettering at edge of paving
Mau tena kiwai o te kete, maku
tenai
Each of us at ahandle of the basket
Marble plaque on north-west side
DAISY
NADJUNGDANGA
MANINGRIDA ARTS & CULTURE
URBAN ART PROJECTS
2001
Plaque on road corner
NEW ZEALAND MEMORIAL
Mau tena kiwai o te kete, maku tenai
Each of us at a handle of the basket
| The New Zealand Memorial
commemorates the unique friendship between New Zealand and Australian people. The two kete or basket handles express the shared effort needed to achieve common goals in both peace and war, and to acknowledge the courage and sacrifice of the servicemen and women of both countries who fought shoulder to shoulder on foreign soil. The memorial was
designed through a collaboration between artist Kingsley Baird and
architects The paving patterns upon which the
kete handles stand represent the weaving of a basket and At the centre of the paving on each
side is buried soil from Gallipoli, the birthplace of the |
Coat of Arms of New Zealand Coat of Arms of Australia
Other image(s) - Click
for larger view
New Zealand catafalque party New Zealand
Tri-Service Band
Scenes at dedication ceremony
Information current to September 2001
Sources: New Zealand Memorial,
Dedication & Order of Service, booklet produced for dedication ceremony
The Canberra Times, 25 April 2001