Albany's memorial to Anzacs given interim heritage listing

14/6/96

Albany's memorial to the Anzacs who died in the Middle East during the Great War is to have its heritage values recognised by the State Government.

Heritage Minister Richard Lewis said the Desert Mounted Corps Memorial would be placed on the interim register of heritage places following a recommendation by the Heritage Council of Western Australia.

Mr Lewis said the bronze sculpture, cast from one originally erected on the battlefield of Port Said, was an Albany landmark.

The memorial was also important as the focus of Albany's annual Anzac services.

"While war memorials are not uncommon structures, Albany's is unique," the Minister said.

"It was in Albany that divisions of soldiers from New Zealand and across Australia were gathered together for the first time.

"From the harbour below the Desert Mounted Corps Memorial, these soldiers sailed off to battle, many never to return.

"As a war memorial, it is highly valued not just by the local community, but by the nation as a whole."

Mr Lewis said the memorial was erected on Mt Clarence on October 11 1964, but that it had a history stretching back many decades.

In August 1916, Brigadier General JR Royston, Commander of the 3rd Australian Light Horse Brigade, suggested a memorial be erected at Port Said, in memory of Anzac mounted troops killed in the Syria campaign.

The Australian Government donated £10,000, the New Zealand Government £2,000 and troops contributed £5,400.

After a design competition was launched in 1927, the Egyptian Agency of the Imperial War Graves Commission began work on the foundations at Port Said. It was completed five years later and featured an Australian trooper going to the aid of a New Zealander whose horse had been wounded.

The memorial was unveiled that year by former Australian Prime Minister Billy Hughes.

Mr Lewis said the memorial was damaged in the Suez crisis of December 1956.

In 1959, the United Arab Republic agreed to ship the memorial back to Australia and it arrived in Albany in March 1960.

Repair work was carried out to the foundation and the figures re-cast. The entire plaster cast was then shipped to Genoa for casting in bronze.

The new statue was then unveiled in October 1964 by Prime Minister Robert Menzies.

Mr Lewis said that apart from some slight water staining, the statue was in good condition. Bayonets from the memorial that were stolen in the mid-1980s were returned after an appeal to the public by the Albany mayor.

"The Desert Mounted Corps Memorial is an important commemoration of Anzacs who died during World War One," the Minister said.

"It provides strong links to Albany's role as a military outpost and is highly regarded by the local and national community.

"The memorial is artistically impressive and is a landmark in the town.

"It deserves recognition for its important heritage and historic values."

Media contact : Bronwyn Hillman 222 9595, 221 1377