Anzac Commemorative Medallion and Badge: Statement by Prime Minister Holt

(Statement by the Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. Harold Holt, in the House of Representatives 16th March 1967)

Last March, the Minister for Defence announced that it had been decided by the Australian Government, in consultation with the New Zealand Government, to issue a medallion and lapel badge to the veterans of the Gallipoli Campaign.

I am glad to be able to announce that arrangements have now been completed for the production of the medallion and the badge. The Minister for the Army will be arranging distribution to those wishing to receive them as soon as possible.

The Government hopes that production of the medallion and lapel badge will be sufficiently advanced to permit at least some of them to be distributed by Anzac Day.

The medallion (with the name of the recipient inscribed) will be issued to the surviving members of the Australian Defence Force who served on the Gallipoli Peninsula, or in direct support of the operations from close off-shore, at any time during the period from the first Anzac Day in April, 1915 to the date of final evacuation in January, 1916. Next of kin or other entitled persons will be entitled to receive the medallion on behalf of their relatives, if the relative died on active service or has since died.

For surviving members, a lapel badge will also be available for wearing. This will be a replica of the obverse (or front) of the medallion and will be about 1 inch high and 2/3 inch wide - the same size as the RSL badge.

The medallion is the work of Mr. Raymond Ewers, the well-known Australian artist, based on a suggestion by Mr. Eric Garrett, a staff artist with the Department of the Army. It has been endorsed by both the Government of New Zealand and ourselves. It will be approximately 3 inches high and 2 inches wide. The obverse of the medallion depicts Simpson and his donkey carrying a wounded soldier to safety. It will be bordered on the lower half by a laurel wreath above the word Anzac. The reverse (the back) shows a relief map of Australian and New Zealand superimposed by the Southern Cross. The lower half will be bordered by New Zealand fern leaves.

The medallion will be cast in bronze and the lapel badge will be metal of a bronze colour.

For the information of the honourable members I present also a brief statement setting out the conditions of eligibility which will apply to the medallion and badge and the manner in which those desiring to receive them should apply.

Background:

Conditions of eligibility

All members of the Australian Defence Force who served during the Gallipoli Campaign are entitled to receive the Anzac Commemorative medallion.

The campaign lasted from April 25, 1915 to January 8, 1916. The award will be made for service on the Gallipoli Peninsula and service in support of the operations in an area off-shore eastward of a line drawn from Yukyeri Point (lat 39 50' 40'' N long 26 9' 45'' E) through a point in lat 39 53' N long 26 0' E thence to Cape Gremea (lat 40 35' N long 26 6' E).

The award will also be available to members of philanthropic organisations and the Press who were accredited to the AIF, and to Australian members of the crews of merchant ships or hospital ships which operated in direct support within the defined area.

Note: The boundary line would run just off-shore from the land masses north and south of the Dardanelles, and is estimated to be within about 5 miles from the beach at Anzac Cove.