The memorialisation of Australians in war
War memorials come in many forms across Australia, from obelisks (tall pointed monuments), statues and cenotaphs to trees, honour boards, crosses and community buildings.
The City of Adelaide is believed to be the home of the first Australian memorial to commemorate soldiers of the First World War. Unveiled on 7 September 1915, the Dardanelles Memorial consisted of an obelisk surrounded by a grove of wattle trees. Since that time, towns throughout the country have erected thousands of memorials to commemorate those who served and died, from the First World War, to modern conflicts.
1. Read the case study of Billy Sing.
a. Using the Places of Pride website, locate a memorial dedicated to Billy.
b. Compare this to a second memorial of Billy, which can be found here.
c. Come up with a list of things that memorials have in common.
d. Find ten Australian First World War memorials that show a human figure. Discuss how the people have been represented. For example, do they look strong or weak? Male or female? Old or young? Of European origin or other? Why do you think the designer has made these decisions?
2. In an ABC News article, Historian Professor Ken Inglis said, "All our cemeteries, our civilian memorials to the dead, are put up by the young to mourn the old, but memorials, war memorials are put up to serve this unnatural purpose in which the old are left to mourn the young whom they've lost." What do you think about Professor Inglis’ statement? Can you think of other purposes of war memorials?
Musician Jeff Brown released a song in 2016 called “The Ballad of Billy Sing”, with lyrics by Ray Essery. Listen to the song here:
Song courtesy of Jeff Brown and Ray Essery.
a. Summarise the main themes that the musician is presenting.
b. Find two other songs that tell the story of individuals who have served for Australia. Do these songs have anything in common? You might like to consider the genre of music, how the person is being portrayed, or the descriptive language used.
c. Music is another way in which people can be memorialised. What can music provide the audience that perhaps a statue or monument cannot?
3. Research a memorial from your local area.
a. Where is the memorial? Why do you think this location was chosen?
b. What form does the memorial take?
c. When was it unveiled?
d. Who or what is it dedicated to?
e. How does the community interact with the memorial?
f. You may like to add your research to Places of Pride.