The memorial is a polished grey granite column surmounted by a ball, sitting on a polished red granite table base. This in turn sits on a polished red granite stepped base. Behind the obelisk is a granite wall and behind this are three flagpoles. On either side of the monument is a curving red granite wall engraved with the names of campaigns. In front (south) of memorial are open lawns used as a parade ground and, on the far southern side of the lawns, two more flagpoles. Behind (north of) the monument is a series of plaques commemorating various units who served in Darwin during World War II. These are set at ground level next to a fence overlooking the harbour.

The cenotaph was originally erected in 1921 outside Government House in Liberty Square which no longer exists. In 1970 it was relocated to the Civic Centre and in 1992 to its present location in Bicentennial Park. Both moves were made because building development reduced the space available for ceremonies. Its present site was once the Darwin Oval and the location for the 14th Anti-Aircraft Battery which fired some of the first shots against Japanese aircraft raiding Darwin in World War II.  As well as bombing raids the monument has withstood major cyclones in 1937 and 1974 and earth tremors.  It was severely damaged by an earth tremor in 1966, requiring repairs.

Late in 1919 a Peace Day Celebration fund was created and £100 was subscribed by various organisations and committees throughout the Territory to erect a monument to honour those Territorians who had sacrificed their lives in World War I. Subsequent representations from members of the Returned Soldiers and Sailors Imperial League of Australia and the Returned Soldiers Labour League ( a small rival group) suggested other uses for the money, chiefly as a contribution to a hall for public and servicemen's use, or for a memorial addition to the Town Hall. During February 1920 the monument supporters argued the more 'patriotic' and 'honourable' sentiment attached to the monument against the 'unfitting' sentiments associated with banquets and dances which would occur in a memorial hall. Those who supported the hall construction sought to maintain the association of participants and friends through a common meeting place. Several public meetings debated the argument, agreed on a Town Hall addition, rescinded that decision and finally determined to create a Soldiers Memorial Committee and give it power to solicit funds, discover the names to be recorded, secure the design of a monument and see to its erection.¹

The monument was constructed in Sydney for approximately £650 and shipped to Darwin free of charge by Burns Philp. Placing names on the plinth became a problem because Government records had not been kept of those who enlisted from the Territory. One set of names was sent to the monumental masons in Sydney but when the incised block arrived it was found that the names were inaccurately spelled or had incorrect initials or ranks. The plinth was returned with a more complete list of 52 names and the corrected version was returned barely in time for erection prior to its unveiling.¹

On 21 April 1921, in entrusting the monument to the keeping of the Mayor of Darwin, the Secretary of the Soldiers' Monument Committee, Mr Percy Kelsey, said, "I now place in your keeping as Mayor of this town this token of the people's appreciation and regard and I trust that the memories of what our men have done for us may inspire your and successive councils with a true appreciation of the seriousness of your trust and that it may enable them to tend this monument with reverential and affectionate care"

The Mayor, Councillor J Burton, paid a general tribute to the men who had gone to the war and regretted that the Monument Committee, in spite of their great efforts, had been unable to obtain all the names of the men who went to the Front from the Territory. The administrator, Mr F C Urquhart, in the main address, argued that Gallipoli was not a failure because the action had held large sections of the Turkish army in check and so prevented their use elsewhere. He spoke of the "honourable and glorious names" and of the men whose "immortal past would live forever". The President of the RSSILA included in his brief address the claim that Australian men had gone to the Front "in order, among other things, that Australia should be clean and white".¹

It was originally intended that, if sufficient funds could be secured, a bronze figure of a soldier would replace the ball on top of the column but this has not occurred.

South side

Plaque at base of column
IN MEMORY OF
OUR FALLEN MATES
VIETNAM 1964-1972

Incised into base of obelisk
THE GREAT WAR

1914 - 1919

THIS MEMORIAL IS ERECTED BY THE
RESIDENTS IN HONOR OF THOSE WHO
ENLISTED FROM THE NORTHERN TERRITORY
"GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN THAN THIS, THAT A
MAN LAY DOWN HIS LIFE FOR HIS FRIENDS."

Below this is a plaque
IN MEMORY OF THOSE WHO GAVE       
THEIR LIVES AND IN APPRECIATION OF
THOSE WHO SERVED THEIR KING AND
COUNTRY IN THE WAR OF 1939-1945   
AND SUBSEQUENT KOREAN AND        
MALAYAN CAMPAIGNS                              

Three plaques on south side of table base
First plaque
Insignia of Royal Australian Regiment
5/400017 Pte. J. Richardson

3rd Battalion Royal Australian Regiment

K.I.A. KOREA.          15 February 1951

Second plaque
DARWIN ENLISTEES
WWII 1949 - 1945

"They died for their country"

Third plaque
Insignia of Royal Australian Regiment
42774 Cpl. R.H.Hillier M.I.D.

1st Battalion Royal Australian Regiment

K.I.A. South Vietnam.          29 November 1965

East side

Plaque at base of column
BORNEO

1965 - 1966
IN MEMORY OF THOSE WHO SERVED

Incised into base of obelisk
THIS SUPREME SACRIFICE WAS MADE BY

North side

Incised into base of obelisk
THIS SUPREME SACRIFICE WAS MADE BY

West side

Incised into base of obelisk
THIS SUPREME SACRIFICE WAS MADE BY

Incised into north side of wall behind obelisk
LEST WE FORGET

Incised into south side of east wall, from east to west

Incised into south side of west wall, from east to west

Nearby is a series of plaques commemorating various units which served in Darwin during World War II.  These are described separately. See list of  Detailed Descriptions for Northern Territory.

Information current to May 2000

Sources:  Website of ANZAC Day Commemoration Committee (Qld)  http://www.anzacday.org.au/education/tff/memorials/nt.html as at 30 August 2000
               ¹Correspondence from Mr Don Dickson in The Inglis Collection in Australian War Memorial,  AWM PR 00944  9/2

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